Lost and Found
by lightofeilia
Summary: How much does Vincent actually know about his comrades? Suddenly finding himself in a world where he is a videogame character, he watches as his newfound friend plays Final Fantasy VII, right before his very eyes... ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I do not own Final Fantasy 7.**

**Lost and Found**

Vincent Valentine was asleep. Was, he noted flatly, as he sat up sharply, the cold of the wind finally getting to him. _I've been asleep on the ground? _he thought silently. _But that can't be right, I remember shutting myself up in that damned coffin of mine ... _He stood up, and observed the surroundings. _It is snowing,_ he mused. _Am I on the North Continent? Maybe I should head to Icicle Village. _He began to walk, not too sure of where to go, but definitely out of this forest. Somehow the place felt wrong to him. There was no way he could have just flown all the way from Nibelheim to the North Continent. Sleepflying?

'Chaos, did you possess me and bring me here?'

**Fuck off. You're not even angry, how could I?**

Right. So Chaos did not possess him then. The monster didn't even like the cold. So ... how?

The doorbell rang. Ellie Canterwell was in the middle of a lecture, her mother nagging her like there was no tomorrow, as if she hadn't grown since the day she turned five, as if she didn't know how to take care of herself. Well, of course she didn't, as she was only sixteen, according to her mother.

"Mom, the doorbell ..."

" ... Dad and I will be gone for 6 months, how on earth are you going to manage all by yourself? You NEED a housekeeper, to cook your meals and clean the house, I don't want you to starve to death and I know you'll never clean up the house ..."

"Mom ... "

" ... It's just not right to leave you alone but your father insists that I go anyway, but ..."

"Darling, she'll be fine. Come on, we're going to be late!" said Mr Canterwell, coming into the room. Ellie beamed at him, silently thanking him for the interruption of her mother's long winded lectures.

"Oh, alright then. Take care of yourself, you hear? We'll call you when we reach there. Goodbye, dear," said Ellie's mother, planting a kiss on her cheek before grabbing her luggage and walking out of Ellie's big room.

"Bye dear, don't bully the housekeeper," said her father, winking and pulling her into a hug.

"Don't worry, I believe I've got better things to do ..." she said, smiling. They both walked out of her room to the front door.

"Ellie dear, did you order something? Something's arrived for you ... what is it?" said her mom, pointing to the postman.

"It's a game I can play on the playstation ... It's called Final Fantasy 7," she said, eagerly paying the postman and collecting her order.

"Oh ... very well dear, have fun. Bye now!"

Ellie waved bye bye to her parents and went back inside the house. They were going overseas for some business thing her father had to attend, and she would be alone for six months. With the exception of the housekeeper. As long as she didn't get in her way, things would be fine. She hadn't gotten round to hiring one yet. The housekeeper would be busy anyway, seeing as her house was so big. She wished they didn't stay so far away from town. They were at the outskirts, so close to the forest. She looked at the game in her hands. Online reviews said it was good, even though the graphics were bad. It looks cool too, in a way. I'll try it out after dinner. The doorbell rang again.

Vincent arrived at the mansion, standing before the magnificent house before him. It reminded him of ShinRa Mansion. _I wonder if it has a basement and a coffin for me to sleep in_, he thought wryly. _I'll just have to shelter here for the night, and return to Nibelheim in the morning. _A bit hesitantly, he rang the doorbell. A little dog behind the gate came up to him and barked. Vincent simply ignored it.

"Down, girl!" shouted a female voice, and the front door of the mansion creaked open. Vincent hid his Death Penalty and his claw, hoping not to frighten the occupants of this mansion. The dog abandoned the scary looking man and ran off to its owner, barking madly. A girl came down to the gates and stopped when she saw Vincent. Seemimgly at a loss of words, she just stood there in the snow, ignoring her poor dog vying for attention from its master.

"Can I stay here for the night?" Vincent asked, tired of the silence which was supposed to be his trademark thing. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"Um ... sure, I guess," said the girl, although Vincent noted the nervousness in her voice.

"Do not worry, I mean you no harm," he said softly, wondering why everyone found him scary. He wasn't, for goodness sake. The only thing scary around here was Sephiroth and Chaos. One of which was dead. The other soon to be, if Vincent ever found a way. The girl unlocked the gate and led him into the house. He stood for awhile, admiring the house and its furniture, mostly wood and sleek mahogany. _This girl must be very rich,_ he thought. _Luckily I'm not Yuffie, or this girl here will become very poor indeed ... _He walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa, resting his tired limbs. The girl followed him, with a weary look in her eyes.

"What's your name?" she finally asked, sitting on the carpeted floor. Vincent frowned at her.

"Vincent Valentine."

"I'm Ellie Canterwell," she chirped, smiling at him. They sat in silence, Ellie gazing at him with a weird look, and he avoiding her weird gaze.

"Where are your parents?" he asked, and again hating himself. _I should be the one keeping quiet, dammit!_

"They're out," she replied simply. Somehow Vincent knew she was lying. And then he had to go break the silence again.

"I didn't know there was a mansion near Icicle Village," he said thoughtfully. Somehow this thought didn't bother him until now.

"Icicle Village? This isn't Icicle Village."

"What?"

"Further south from here is Peach Town."

"Peach Town ...?" Something clicked in Vincent's brain. _This isn't right, there's no such thing as Peach Town._

"You're in Canada, you know," said Ellie. Maybe this guy took a blow to the head and can't remember anything for the life of him.

"Canada ...?" _Never heard of it. Where am I?_

"Yes ... Canada."

Vincent smacked his forehead._ I can't get back, I'm in a different world ... _

"Mr Valentine ... are you alright?" Vincent jumped at being addressed like this. Ellie was coming closer to him, but he ignored her, thinking desperately of the future. Suddenly Ellie screamed. Vincent looked up, and realised that she saw his gun and his claw. Stupid cloak.

"I am not going to hurt you," said Vincent matter-of-factly. She backed away from him, fear still in her blue eyes.

"Miss Canterwell ... I am not an outlaw, or a criminal. This is merely for my own protection," he said, trying to reassure her. She nodded, and sat back down on the floor.

"Um... so you'll be leaving tomorrow?" she said timidly, looking up at him again. Vincent sighed.

"I'm sorry to say this, but ... I don't know how to get back."  
"Where do you live?"

"Nibelheim."

"Erm ... Never heard of it ..."

"Precisely."

Ellie thought for awhile. This guy, although scary-looking, was quite a nice guy after all. Maybe he can be my "housekeeper", she thought, smiling. Clearing her throat, she voiced out her opinion to him.

"Housekeeper?" he echoed. She nodded back at him, smiling.

"I'll pay you, don't worry. My parents will be gone for 6 months, they just left, and I'm supposed to hire a housekeeper. Since you have nowhere to go, why don't you keep me company instead?"

Before Vincent could say anything however, a tinny meow sounded somewhere near his feet. Something was pawing at his legs. He picked the little kitten up with his hand and stared at it. Ellie giggled.

"That's Fluffy. Say hi, Fluffy," she said to the tiny furball now licking Vincent's claw. Then she turned to Vincent again. He looked like he didn't know what to do with the animal beside him.

"So what do you say? Be my housekeeper?" Ellie asked. She wasn't that afraid of him anymore. Then he nodded, a hint of a smile showing on his pale features.

"Alright! Make me dinner, now," said Ellie, giggling. "I'll tell you the rules of the house later."  
"Maybe you need to give me a tour, before I get lost in the house," said Vincent. "Where's the kitchen?"

"Just across the hall, past the dining table," she said absently, taking out the Final Fantasy RPG and inserting it into the Playstation. Vincent turned and left the room. So did Fluffy.

Well, that's the first chapter. If it's a bit boring, well I'm sorry. Hehe. Wait till Vincent finds out what game Ellie's playing! Hopefully he doesn't go into cardiac arrest, lol. Bye bye people, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I recieved 5 reviews but how come it only shows 1? Hmmm. Anyway, I decided to make this fic because it was the opposite of those "oh no, I'm sucked into the world of Final Fantasy!" Fluffy lovessss Vinnie hugs Fluffy I love cats! Haha ... by the way, this is my first attempt at writing humour ... so if it's just lame, tell me ... and also, I'm wondering whether or not to bring the whole of AVALANCHE in here ... after Ellie finds out about Vinnie anyway. Oh, and I made up the Peach Town, I don't stay in Canada so I have absolutely no idea ... Somebody, give me an idea of another town name ...

Disclaimer : I do NOT own Final Fantasy 7.

**Lost and Found : Chapter Two**

Vincent worked in the kitchen, whilst the little furball called Fluffy pawed at his feet. It seemed to like him, for some reason. "Go away, Fluffy, I don't like you," muttered Vincent exasperatedly. The Chaos part of him wanted to cook Fluffy but somehow he didn't think Ellie would like that. The Vincent part of him simply didn't know what to do with it. He sighed and continued making macaroni and cheese, gently pushing the kitty away with his boot.

"Miss Canterwell, your dinner will be ready soon ..." called Vincent. The only response was another meow from Fluffy, the little kitten Vincent was finding harder and harder to ignore.

The gunman carried the plates to the dining table. A chime from the clock on the wall caught his attention; it was 8 o'clock. He walked back to the living room and found Ellie hooked to the television screen, and holding a weird looking remote control.

"Dinner, Miss Canterwell," he said solemnly, and returned to the dining hall.

"Gee, Vinnie, you don't have to call me Miss Canterwell, you know? Just Ellie will do," said Ellie, sitting down on a chair opposite him. "Mmmm, smells good! Thanks Vinnie!"

"You're welcome ..."

They sat in silence for awhile, eating their food. Ellie was enjoying Vincent's cooking, and Vincent was thinking about Ellie calling him Vinnie. That reminded him of Yuffie. Yuffie loved to call him Vinnie, loved to irritate him and the other members of Avalanche, but she was cute and hyper in a way. Though sometimes he had to struggle to keep Chaos inside of him when Yuffie annoyed him too much.

"Vinnie? Why are you so quiet?"

"I'm a quiet person."

"Oh."

"Do you find my silence disturbing?" he asked quietly.

"Frankly, yes. And why do you talk so formally?"

"I don't know."

"Most people say 'I dunno' but you say 'I don't know'," said Ellie, grinning at him. "Try saying 'I dunno'."

"Come on! You look cool, you should start talking cool."

"I do not find that very cool, to begin with."

"Aww, come on ..."

"I am incapable of talking in slangs."

"Why not..?"

"I dun - I don't know," said Vincent, and mentally slapped himself for the slip-up. Chaos laughed at him. So did Ellie. Heck, if Yuffie were here ...

"I'm done! You go do the dishes, Vinnie, I wanna get back to playing my game! I was halfway in the middle of a battle!" she jumped out of the chair and ran off to the living room. Vincent sighed and carried the plates back to the kitchen, nearly tripping over that annoying kitten. He began washing the dishes, wondering what he would do later on.

"Oh Vinnie, feed Fluffy please! The milk's in the fridge ... "

Vincent was contemplating throwing the milk and the kitten out, but he couldn't resist the cute little kitty meowing sweetly up at him. It started to paw at him again. "I am not a scratching post, Fluffy ... No, not my cloak!" He pulled his cloak away from the little kitten's claws and hurriedly gave Fluffy its milk. He walked back into the living room, relieved to be rid of that cat.

"Agh, no! Stupid President ShinRa ... Stupid robot ..."

Vincent looked up. _Did I just hear what I think I heard ...?_

"Yes! Yes! Die, you stupid robot, die, muahahahaha ..."

Vincent sat beside Ellie, curious about this strange device, and also wondering where the words President Shinra came from. On the television screen, something exploded, and the bridge three figures were standing on gave way. A guy with spiky blonde hair tried to hold on and haul himself up to the platform towards his companions, but he couldn't, and then he fell. And the next words he saw on the screen almost sent Vincent into cardiac arrest.

'CLOUD! NO!'

Vincent's eyes grew wide and he muttered a profanity. _Cloud? And are those two ... Tifa? Barret? _Vincent's eyes fell onto the controller Ellie was holding, which led to a flat little machine. _She mentioned a game ... this is the game? _

"Um, Ellie ... Sorry to bother you, but ... what are you doing?"

"I'm playing a game!"

"I know, but ... what exactly is it about?"

"Well, I'm not too sure, but it starts off with this guy called Cloud, and he helps this crazy bad-tempered guy on a mission. Apparently it's a world where ShinRa rules, and are harnessing Mako energy. They built reactors to do that, but it kinda kills all wildlife and everything. So this crazy bad-tempered guy is head of... what was that, Avalanche? Some resistance thingy, and they're on a mission to blow the reactors up ... and Cloud fell, but it seems he's alright ... "

"Cloud. That man's name is Cloud," repeated Vincent in disbelief.

"Yeah. Cloud Strife."

"And ... what are the other two's names?"

"Tifa, and Barret."

_What on earth is going on here! _thought Vincent hysterically. _Avalanche, Cloud, Tifa, Barret ... I am stuck, with no idea how I even got here and no way to get back, in a world where my friends are a game! Wait, does that mean ... _

"And besides those two characters ... there are no more?" questioned Vincent, trying to keep calm. _Am I part of this madness too? _

"Well, there are Biggs and Wedge and Jessie, but they're not on screen right now."

Vincent focused his attention on the screen. Some nice, calm music was playing on screen. His heart sank when he saw the figure talking to Cloud.

"Aeris," he whispered, in awe. _If this was the beginning of the game, then that means I do not appear until later. Cloud found me in Nibelheim, I must watch and wait until Ellie gets there. But this means watching everything all over again ... Sephiroth ... Aeris ..._

"Why do the characters look so ... disfigured? Their hands are ... not hands," said Vincent, thinking of the Ancient's beauty. Aeris was beautiful, and so was Tifa. But on screen ...

"Graphics aren't very good. This game is quite old. This is Final Fantasy 7. The latest one now is Final Fantasy 12. But they're all different, or so I've heard. I wanna play Final Fantasy 8 after I finish this game."

"Ellie, can you promise me one thing?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can I watch you play?"

"Of course!"

"I mean to say, do not continue your game without me ... I wish to see, again," said Vincent, smiling. Some memories of his were bad, but ... the times he spent with Avalanche were the best in his life. And he would get to see what happened to Cloud before they picked him up in his old mansion.

"Again?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean, 'again'?"

"I dunno," said Vincent innocently. Ellie giggled at him.

"Okay, Vinnie. But I plan to be playing the whole day tomorrow! And the day after, and so on! You have to clean the house, you'll be busy ..."

"Then you could make things easier by helping me."

"But ... "

"I'll do most of the work, but please do not continue without me, Ellie," said Vincent, watching as Reno of the Turks and a bunch of crappy soldiers appeared on screen.

"Oh, alright ... hiya, Fluffy," said Ellie, stroking the little kitty's fur. _Oh no, _thought Vincent wearily, and Chaos laughed at him again. Fluffy crawled into Vincent's lap. Vincent chose to ignore this, and turned again to Ellie.

"What has happened to Cloud?"

"He fell through the roof after that big explosion, and he met this cute flower girl called Aeris, and now these people are after her. Time for Cloud to play the hero ..."

Vincent watched as Aeris was cornered by a few soldiers, and Cloud was up on the rafters. A window appeared on screen.

' Fight  
Wait'

"Well of course fight, silly!"

"Wait," said Vincent, looking at the four barrels situated near Cloud.

"Er ... if you say so Vinnie," said Ellie hesitantly, and selected the option to wait.

"Direct Cloud to push that barrel over there ... the left-most one at the back," said Vincent. Ellie did as she was told. The barrel knocked down the guards, giving time for Aeris to run. Again, she was cornered.

"Push which one, Vinnie?" said Ellie, getting excited. Vinnie was smart!

"Let me see ... I think it is the right-most one at the back."

"Woo-hoo! Yeah, go barrel! Oh crap, not again ..."

"Okay ... now try the right-most one at the front."

"Yay! Go Cloud! Wow, Vinnie, have you played this game before?"

" ... You could put it that way," replied Vincent uneasily. The game went on, Cloud and Aeris were now on the roof, jumping here and there. Vincent resisted an urge to laugh at Cloud who looked like a monkey. Poor Aeris was left behind. Cloud laughs at her, and she calls him terrible. _Ah, the beginning of romance ... _thought Vincent. _I wonder if Cloud still does think about her?_

"Ellie, what is that?" Vincent asked, pointing to a pink and glowing question mark on the ground.

"Oh, that's a Save Point."

"Save Point ...?"

"Yeah, I save my game here, so if I turn off the game, the next time I come back to play, I can just start off from here." She demonstrated, saving her game.

"You should get some sleep, Ellie," Vincent said softly. Ellie nodded and turned off the playstation. "You can stay in the guestroom. G'night Vinnie," said Ellie, yawning and retired to her room.

Vincent closed the door and sat on his bed, pulling out his PHS. He dialled Cloud's number, but nobody picked up. He tried all the members of AVALANCHE, but it didn't seem to work. Something jolted him awake from his thoughts, and he looked down to find that Fluffy had followed him in and was now curled up on his foot. Vincent groaned and lightly kicked the kitten aside, and went to sleep.

Was that boring? Sorry guys! ( Next chapter : Cloud and gang can't find Vincent! Oh nooooOOOOOooooOOooo


	3. Chapter 3

Can someone tell me what a Mary Sue is...? I have absolutely no idea... Oh yeah, I know I said that in this chapter Cloud and gang can't find Vincent, but I think it's a bit too early for that. So, if anyone was looking forward to a Cloud chapter... sorry. Hehe... but they WILL appear, in Ellie's house, but they'll go back. That'd probably be the end of this story :( I will not make this a romance fic, I have no idea how. Haha. But in seeing his life all over again through a little box, Vincent would probably change a little bit. I actually wanted to make this a Sephiroth one, but... haha. Decided on Vincent in the end. Damn, it's quite difficult to do this fic; I have to frequently consult a walkthrough and a game script... Thanks again for the reviews!

**Lost and Found: Chapter 3**

Ellie woke up, rubbing her eyes and groaning. She forgot to tell Vincent to wake her up in the mornings because she couldn't possible get up by herself. Somehow alarms wouldn't do the job either. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Eleven o'clock. _Vinnie would have been bored to death by now … _thought Ellie groggily. She walked downstairs into the hallway and called out, "Vinnie…?"

"Ellie, I am preparing lunch in the kitchen," came the reply.

"You should have woke me up for breakfast at around ten," said Ellie, coming into the kitchen. Vincent looked like he was cooking spaghetti.

"I didn't know you wanted me to wake you," said Vincent.

"Yeah… well, just wake me up at ten tomorrow, kay?"

Vincent nodded in reply.

"I wanna go play now … but I have to wait for you…" said Ellie, sounding quite sad. "What am I going to do?"

"You could take Fluffy somewhere else other than my foot," replied Vincent irritably. Ellie glanced at the kitten and giggled. As always, Fluffy was bugging Vinnie, pawing at his boots and his cloak and occasionally letting out a sweet meow.

"She just wants to play, Vinnie," said Ellie, scooping Fluffy into her arms and scratching behind her ears. Vincent would have snorted, but he stopped himself because snorting just wasn't what Vincent does. It was so un-Vincent-like.

"Well, you could play with her while I finish cooking your meal… and I believe your dog is rather lonely."

"Oh, Rex? He's always in need of attention…"

"Then perhaps you should give him some."

"Maybe later. I'll take him for a walk later, and you can follow me," said Ellie, yawning. Vincent chose not to reply, and continued making lunch for Ellie.

After lunch, they proceeded to the living room, where Vincent sat comfortably on the plush sofa and motioned for Ellie to start. Ellie switched on the Playstation and loaded her game. They watched in silence as Aeris led Cloud to her home in Sector Five. Ellie bought a Titan Bangle, a restore materia and a few Phoenix Downs. Vincent watched in amusement as Aeris's mother, Elmyra, fussed over her when Aeris proclaimed Cloud as her bodyguard. _I wonder if Cloud blushed at that time…?_ thought Vincent, smiling to himself. _Cloud never told me how he met Aeris… I wonder how Tifa's reaction was?_

He shook his head and concentrated on the game.

_**Cloud: Is Sector Seven far from here? I need to get to Tifa's bar.**_

_**Aeris: Is Tifa..…. A girl?**_

_**Cloud: Yeah.**_

_**Aeris: A girl…. friend?**_

A window popped out, asking the player to choose for Cloud. Ellie picked 'no', and Vincent smirked. Aeris insisted on showing Cloud the way to Sector Seven and Cloud refusing point blank to put her in danger again. They went to bed and a voice started speaking to Cloud. Flashbacks to Cloud's home appeared on screen. Then Cloud woke up, and Ellie directed him to go outside. However, Aeris appeared to have heard his footsteps and ushered him back to bed. Again and again Ellie tried, but was unsuccessful.

"Maybe you need to try walking, Ellie," said Vincent.

"Oh, right …" She directed Cloud to walk, and finally he made it out of the house without Aeris knowing. Or so he thought. At the exit of Sector Five, Aeris stood there, waiting for Cloud. They ran into a couple of monsters, and Vincent realised that Ellie was controlling Cloud and Aeris's attacks. He saw a small window on the left side of the screen, which said Attack, Magic, and Item. _Interesting,_ he noted. He also noticed that Ellie had to wait for a little green gauge to fill itself before she could direct the characters. _That didn't happen in real life … but what was real life? If this is real, I'm a fantasy character … _

He watched as Aeris and Cloud sat on the big pink slide, chatting.

_**Aeris: What rank were you?  
Cloud: Rank?  
Aeris: You know, in SOLDIER.  
Cloud: Oh, I was ...**_

Suddenly a white flash appeared on the screen, then back the two of them.  
**_Cloud: First Class._**

_What happened back there ...? _thought Vincent, confused. _Is this all ... real? Perhaps our names and appearances are just there ... Perhaps the story is different ... perhaps it is not about ShinRa and Sephiroth and Meteor ..._ On screen, the gate behind Cloud and Aeris opened, revealing a chocobo and a carriage, and was headed in the direction of Wall Market The carriage turned around, and Cloud recognised the girl who was in it as Tifa. Aeris jumped down from the slide and ran after the carriage, ignoring Cloud's protests.

The game continued on for some time, until at one point Ellie paused to look around at Vincent who was laughing on the sofa. When he caught Ellie's eye he immediately stopped, mentally kicking himself. _How unusual,_ thought Ellie. _Apparently he found the idea of Cloud dressing up in girl's clothes simply hilarious. _Ellie shrugged and went back to the game, looking for the items she had to dress Cloud up with. After having gotten the cologne, wig and the dress, Cloud put them on. Vincent had to control himself, he wished the graphics on screen were better.

_Oh, if I ever find a way to get back home... I wonder how Cloud will react if I told him about it...? _Vincent smirked, and watched in amusement as Aeris and Cloud, clad in beautiful, alluring clothing walked up to Don Corneo's mansion. Then they found Tifa, and soon were summoned to see that fat old perverted bastard. The three of them stood there nervously, wondering who Don Corneo would pick. Vincent snickered when Don Corneo tried to get a better look of Cloud, who was pointedly looking away. Finally he decided to have Aeris for the night. Cloud and Tifa were left to Corneo's miserable men, but they fought their way out with no trouble, hurrying to Aeris's aid. They threatened Corneo with his balls and discovered that ShinRa was going to break the support holding up the plate in Sector Seven. After having gotten the information, however, Corneo pulled a switch and the floor gave way, sending the three of them down.

Vincent clenched his fists as he watched the scene with President ShinRa and that fat ass, Heidegger. Thankfully they were dead now. Then the screen switched back to Cloud and his two lovely ladies. Ellie squealed, a boss battle had begun. The monster had a weakness, however, its tsunami attack also does damage to itself. Ellie managed to win the battle and directed Cloud out of the sewers after collecting some various things, including a Steal Materia. They came out of a manhole into Train Graveyard. Vincent helped Ellie get through the train maze, and they finally reach Sector Seven. The catchy battle music Vincent was beginning to like sounded in the background, along with sounds of gunfire.

After Ellie saved her game, and Aeris left the screen to get Marlene, Ellie proceeded to direct Cloud upwards.

"Wait, Ellie, I think you should remove all materia from Aeris first... she might not be fighting later," said Vincent. Ellie did so and proceeded upwards. They reached the top, passing by Biggs and Jessie, who had tried in vain to stop ShinRa. Barret was shooting at the helicopter hovering dangerously near to the plate. Ellie equipped the materia on Barret, and Reno appeared. Barret let out a string of obscenities, but that didn't stop Reno from pushing the button to set the bomb. They fought, Ellie having a particularly difficult time until Vincent told her that to get rid of Pyramids which Reno casted, you have to attack the pyramid itself, but Reno escaped and Tifa tried desperately to disarm the bomb.

Suddenly the ShinRa helicopter appeared again, and a man with long black hair laughed at them. Barret opened fire, but the man who Vincent recognised as Tseng shoved Aeris into view. _Aeris was captured by ShinRa? I did not know that. _The helicopter flew away and the support blew up partially. Cloud, Tifa and Barret hung precariously from a wire and swung to safety. Vincent let out a gasp as he watched the plate fall and crush Sector Seven. Barret was now screaming to the heavens about Marlene, but Tifa calmed him down informing him that Aeris had shouted to her saying Marlene was all right. Another scene happens where Cloud demands to know about Ancients, and the screen flashes again.

_**In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet! **_

Cloud kneels to the ground, holding his head. **_Sephiroth...?_** he says. Barret yells at him to 'pull it together' and the group proceeds to Aeris's house. Elmyra talks about Aeris being an Ancient, and Vincent sat in silence, absorbing the information of his departed friend. _Aeris... I never knew... _he thought sadly. Barret was reunited with Marlene again, and they made plans to rescue Aeris. Ellie saved her game outside of Aeris's house, and turns off the playstation. Vincent gave her a questioning look.

"I'm going to sleep, bye Vinnie!" she said cheerily, going off to her room.

I know, boring right? But I didn't want to jump all the way to Nibelheim ... sigh. What to do, what to do? This chapter isn't even funny :( Anyway, sorry if Vincent was a bit out of character just now...


	4. Chapter 4

I still don't know what a Mary-Sue is ... isn't anyone going to tell me? -sweatdrop- To Emri, my lovely reviewer, I will have Ellie obtain Yuffie when they are at Fort Condor. Because that's when I got her P. I now have to consult a novelisation, a game script, and a walkthrough! Gahhhhhh ... Thanks for all the reviews! You really keep me going -sniff-

**Lost and Found: Chapter 4**

Ellie had gone off for her afternoon nap. Meanwhile, Vincent had nothing to do. _What a lousy housekeeper I am ... _he thought, shaking his head. Vincent looked down at the kitten who was now meowing non-stop, and decided that it was probably hungry. He strode off to the kitchen and poured milk for Fluffy to drink. Having nothing else to do, he went out into the big garden, only to be greeted joyfully by Rex.

When Ellie woke up and went back into the living room, Vincent was not there. She checked the kitchen, but he wasn't there either. Back up the stairs she went, calling out for him.

"Vinnie...? Where are you?"

Vincent's room door opened, and out he came with his long black hair wet and his red cloak nowhere to be seen. Evidently he had just taken a bath. Ellie gazed at him questioningly.

"Your dog drooled all over me," said Vincent flatly. Ellie laughed, and they both went back down to the living room.

Ellie loaded her game and began to play. Cloud, Tifa and Barret had left Elmyra and Marlene to go to ShinRa Headquarters to rescue Aeris._ Cloud must have been very angry and worried, _thought Vincent, remembering the time Aeris had left for the City of the Ancients by herself. Cloud had been so worried and snapped at everyone else who delayed him from reaching Aeris. Ellie directed the group to Wall Market and explored every shop, hoping to find an answer as to how to get to ShinRa Headquarters. She bought another Restore materia and a Fire materia. Finally she reached the weapon shop, and the vendor on the left said that to go up to the plate, they'll need batteries. Ellie asked Vincent, but he too had no idea. She bought the batteries anyway, and left the shop.

Ellie directed Cloud to the top right corner of the screen, and a new screen appeared. It was a huge wall full of markings and wordings no doubt written by young boys, with a long wire attached to it that led up. Soon after putting the batteries to use on the complicated wall of wires, Ellie finally arrived at the ShinRa building. _I could help Ellie here, _thought Vincent. _I am an ex-Turk after all. _Ellie chose the option to sneak in quietly, but they were soon recognised and attacked. After the battle, Vincent pointed out the elevator to her at the back of the room, and she directed Cloud to enter it. Suddenly the elevator stopped, and another battle ensued. Fairly easy, even for Ellie, but it was a long fight because the elevator stopped at every floor.

Finally they reached the 59th floor. Vincent informed her that to access the 60th floor onwards, she would have to get a key card, and she would also have to switch elevators. She directed Cloud to the other elevator, but were attacked by a group of soldiers. Ellie obtained a Keycard 60 for her troubles. Cloud and gang proceeds to the elevator and slipped past the incompetent guards into the room on the right. They walked up to the 61st floor.

"Oh wait, I don't have the keycard for the 61st floor..."

"But the light on the door is blue, not red, perhaps it is broken," said Vincent. Cloud passed through the door with no problem, and Ellie directed him to talk to other people, in order to get information. After talking to a man in a grey suit, Cloud received a Keycard 62. They then proceeded to the 62nd floor, which Vincent recognised as the mayor's office and a few libraries.

"Talk to the mayor, Ellie, he might be able to help."

"Oh, okay ... wait, he says he would help but I need to give him a password..."

_Stupid mayor, _thought Vincent irritably. Ellie had to spend a fortune getting some clues out of the guy in the hallway in order to get the password. She received a Keycard 65. Cloud arrived at the 63rd floor. Ellie directed him to the computer terminal room on the screen. There were three other rooms on screen, each with something shiny inside it. Cloud will only be allowed to open three doors to get the prizes. _I thought the 63rd floor was the Turk Headquarters...? _thought Vincent. (a/n:I made that up)

"Vinnie ..."

"I am sorry, I do not know."

In the end, Ellie only managed to get an All Materia and a Star Pendant. She couldn't get to all of them in one go. Deciding to leave behind the Four Slots, she left for the 64th floor. There were a few rooms with treasure chests in it. She directed Cloud to open one, and it contained an item called Midgar Parts. Then she went inside the room with the model and placed the parts there. Ellie and Vincent heard a 'click', which sounded like something had been unlocked. Ellie directed Cloud to open another treasure chest, but he couldn't. Ellie tried another treasure chest, and this time it did open, with another Midgar part. She repeated this a few times until all five pieces had been restored. She received a Keycard 66. Vincent thought he heard her mutter _"Stupid Squaresoft..."_

"Who is Squaresoft?" questioned Vincent.

"Er ... the maker of this game, I think..."

"Oh."

They arrived at the 66th floor, which Vincent recognised as a conference room in the middle of the floor. They watched as the ShinRa executives enter the room.

"Hey cool, look Vinnie, a bathroom!" Vincent resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Amazingly, however, Cloud entered the broken toilet and climbed up into the vents. Ellie directed him towards the screen, where they could hear the conference meeting.

_**Reeve: We have the damage estimates for Sector 7. Considering those factories we already set up and all the investments, the damage estimated cost to rebuild Sector 7 is...  
President Shinra: We're not rebuilding.  
Reeve: What?  
President Shinra: We're leaving Sector 7 as it is. And restarting the Neo-Midgar plan.  
Reeve: ...then the Ancients?  
President Shinra: The Promised Land will soon be ours. I want you to raise the Mako rates 15 in every area.  
Palmer: Rate hike! Rate hike! Tra, la, la! And please include our Space Program in the budget! **_

Once again Vincent found himself with an insatiable urge to kill all fat, old, crazy bastards. He was sure Barret felt the same way.

_**President Shinra: Hojo. How's the girl?  
Hojo: As a specimen, she is inferior to her mother. I'm still in the process of comparing her to her mother, Ifalna, but for now the difference is 18. **_

"Ifalna!" Vincent blurted out. Ellie turned around to face him.Vincent shook his head and said nothing, and Ellie returned to her game. _Aeris is Professor Gast's daughter...! _

Cloud leaves the duct and follows Hojo up to the 67th floor. An event took place, Cloud had peered into a tank and muttered "Jenova..." and then started to flip out. He kneeled to the floor again, clucthing his head. Barret looked into the tank, and some eerie music started playing, sending chills up and down Vincent's spine. Jenova was missing its head. Ellie regained control of Cloud and saved her game near the elevator.

"Alright, Ellie, it's almost time for dinner... I have to cook now," said Vincent, getting up from the sofa. Ellie nodded, and switched off the playstation.

"I don't suggest you take Rex for a walk now, it's getting dark. But please keep Fluffy away from the kitchen," said Vincent, glaring at the white fluffball before heading off to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Ellie laughed at Vincent, and picked Fluffy up who was attempting to follow Vincent.

"It's ok, Fluffy," said Ellie, cuddling the kitten. "We both know how he really feels about you, don't we?"

End of chapter! Hmm.. this is gonna be quite a long story, don't you think? But I'm running out of things for Vincent to cook! Pasta, macaroni and cheese ... erm.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, I finally know what a Mary Sue is :P Thanks for the reviews and the explanation of a definition of a Mary Sue... -beams- Oh, suggestions on food please!

**Lost and Found: Chapter 5**

Ellie was outside playing with Rex when Vincent had finished preparing dinner. He opened the door and called her in for dinner. They sat at the dinner table, with Ellie enjoying Vincent's chicken sandwich, and Vincent pondering over something that had not bothered him until now.

"Ellie, what date is it today?"

"December 16th," said Ellie, munching happily on the sandwich. Vincent decided not to bother asking what year it was.

"Saaay ... Vinnie, when's your birthday?"

"...October 13th."

"Oh... Mine is March 12th!" said Ellie, beaming at him. Vincent remained silent, as always, unsure of how to reply.

"I'm done! You're slow, Vinnie!" said Ellie, bringing her plate to the kitchen and washing it. Then she ran back to the living room, eager to start the game.

Ellie loaded her game and directed Cloud to the trreasure chest which contained a Poison materia, and then to the elevator. Vincent abandoned all self-control and sat beside Ellie on the floor. Aeris was locked in a glass cage.

_**Cloud: Aeris!  
Hojo: Aeris? Oh, is that her name? What do you want?  
Cloud: We're taking Aeris back.  
Hojo: There's so many frivolous things in this world. (Barret points his gun-arm at him) Are you going to kill me? I don't think you should. The equipment here is extremely delicate. Without me, who could operate it? Hmm?  
Cloud: Ugh...  
Hojo: That's right. I recommend you think things out logically before you make any rash moves. Now bring in the Specimen! **_

The man brought up a red four-legged beast near Aeris, who Vincent recognised as Nanaki. _So that's how Cloud found Nanaki, _thought Vincent, smiling slightly. Aeris had already started screaming for Cloud.Barret starts shooting at the glass door and it opened. Vincent wanted to cheer when Nanaki leapt out at Hojo, but resisted the urge to do so. Aeris came out unharmed, and thanked Cloud. However the elevator in the glass cage started moving again. Nanaki said there was a specimen which was quite strong, and Vincent snickered when Tifa said "It talked!". Nanaki decided to help Cloud fight. A window popped out on screen, asking Ellie to choose either Barret or Tifa to fight. Ellie sent Barret off, leaving Cloud, "Red XIII" and Tifa to fight the specimen.

Ellie decided to try out her new Poison materia, but the monster absorbed poison, much to Ellie's dismay. Three little opts (a/n : that's what its called in the walkthrough) attacked Cloud's party with Fire and Ice magic. Cloud killed one of them, but the monster just revived the little opt again. Ellie didn't bother attacking the little opts anymore, and instead focused on the big boss at the back row. The fight was proving to be quite difficult as the boss was dealing poison to Cloud's party. Only Cloud remained unpoisoned thanks to the Star Pendant, but Tifa and Nanaki suffered worse. In the end Nanaki's Sled Fang finished off the monster.

After getting the Enemy Skill materia, they split into two groups, Ellie choosing Tifa and Barret to go with Cloud. Ellie directed Cloud to the potions and then down to the 66th floor, where they were supposed to meet Aeris and Nanaki. However Cloud's group was seized by the Turks once they reached the elevator. They arrived at the President's office, handcuffed behind their backs. Aeris was not there, and Cloud started to panick again. _Poor Cloud, _thought Vincent. _How many times has it been already?_

_**Cloud: You all got caught, too? Where is Aerith?  
President Shinra: In a safe place. She's the last surviving Ancient... Don't you know? They called themselves the Cetra, and lived thousands of years ago. Now they are just a forgotten page in history.  
Red XIII: Cetra... That girl, is she a survivor of the Cetra?  
President Shinra: Cetra, or the Ancients will show us the way to the 'Promised Land'. I'm expecting a lot out of her.  
Red XIII: The Promised Land? Isn't that just a legend?  
President Shinra: Even so, it's just too appealing to not to pursue. It's been said the Promised Land is very fertile. ...If the land is fertile...  
Barret: Then there's gotta be Mako!  
President Shinra: Exactly. The abundant Mako will just come out on its own. That is where Neo- Midgar will be built. Shinra's new glory...  
Barret: $$#&! Quit dreamin!  
President Shinra: Oh really, don't you know? These days all it takes for your dreams to come true is money and power. Well, that is all for our meeting. **_

The screen changed, showing Cloud's group locked in separate cells. Cloud talked to Aeris for a little while, and after Aeris reminded Cloud of the promise of a date they had made back in the church, Tifa interrupted. After some story about the Ancients and speaking to the Planet, Cloud decided to get some sleep. When he woke up, the door was open. A guard was lying outside on the floor, dead. Cloud woke Tifa, and released Barret and Nanaki from their cells. Nanaki ran on ahead, following the trail of blood, and Barret said he'd clean up at the back. Ellie directed Cloud to follow Nanaki up to the 67th floor. Jenova specimen was missing from its tank.The blood path lead to the President's Office, and the scene on the screen was the President sitting dead on his chair, a sword impaled on him. _So that's how he died_, thought Vincent happily.

Cloud recognised the sword as Sephiroth's sword. Everybody was shocked at this news, and then Palmer shows up. He begs Cloud not to kill him. _Not another fat bastard_, thought Vincent irritably. _Palmer, Heidegger and Corneo.._ On screen, Palmer said that Sephiroth was here, and he was saying something about not letting them have the Promised Land. A ShinRa helicopter arrived and Palmer ran to it. Rufus, the son of the President gave his boring and evil speech, then Cloud told Barret to get Aeris and everyone out of the building. Cloud prepares to fight Rufus. Tifa then decides to stop at 69th floor to wait for Cloud, telling everyone to go on ahead. Ellie checks on Aeris's party equipment, and then proceeds to the elevator.

On the other elevator next to Aeris's party, a robot-like tank appeared, and they went into battle. Vincent, noticing this was a robot, told Ellie to use bolt magic, because lightning was their weaknesses.

"Oh no, only Barret can attack! Aeris and Red XIII can't reach it!" exclaimed Ellie. Barret pounded the monster with his attacks, whereas Nanaki used Bolt spells on it, and Aeris healed the party. Finally Barret's Big Shot did the job. Ellie cheered, but then another monster came. This time it looked like a helicopter, and Ellie managed to defeat it using the same 'strategy' she had just now. They stopped the elevator on the first floor, then the screen switched back to Cloud. Ellie removed the materia from Aeris's party and equipped it on Cloud. The battle with Rufus began.

Beside Rufus was a panther-like monster which Vincent recognised as Dark Nation. Dark Nation casted Barrier and MBarrier on Rufus.

"What's MBarrier, Vinnie?"

"It reduces magic damage."

"Oh..."

"Dark Nation will probably cast Barrier and MBarrier again on Rufus and itself once the effects wear off, I suggest you kill it first," said Vincent.

_Dark Nation? _thought Ellie in wonder. _How does he know that's what its called? _Fortunately for Vincent, Ellie decided not to pursue to subject and continued attacking Dark Nation. Sure enough, she killed the panther thing and began to focus her attack on Rufus. She managed to defeat Rufus (Vincent applauded silently) but Rufus escaped to the ShinRa helicopter, and Cloud ran back down the stairs, meeting up with Tifa. The scene shifted to Aeris's party. They were surrounded by ShinRa soldiers who were outside the building. Cloud and Tifa arrived on screen, and Vincent and Ellie watched a movie of Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII going to a truck with Tifa driving and Cloud on a motorcycle. They made a dramatic escape by shattering the glass and landing on the freeway. Instructions for a mini game appeared, and also party member selection. Ellie chose Aeris and Tifa, and began the mini game, which Vincent recognised as the one in Wonder Square at the Gold Saucer.

Ellie was having trouble with the ShinRa soldiers, but finally they reached a dead end, and they got out of their vehicles for battle. Another big metal boss came and attacked Cloud's party. After awhile, Vincent noticed that most of its attacks were fire-based, and warned Ellie not to use fire magic against it, for it might be resistant to fire. It was quite a long fight, but finally Cloud's Braver managed to finish it off. They left Midgar, Ellie choosing Barret and Tifa in her party, and left for Kalm.

After a couple of battles, Ellie arrived at Kalm. Everyone went inside the inn, except for Cloud. Ellie decided to explore the town a bit. Vincent was quite impatient and wanted to see what happened next, but he decided to be polite and keep quiet. Ellie came across a weapon shop and bought some new weapons for Cloud and his party. Finally she went back into the inn, and Aeris and Barret yelled at Cloud for being late.

_**Barret: So let's hear your story... You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the planet. Let's hear it all.  
Cloud: ...I used to want to be like Sephiroth so I joined SOLDIER. After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends.  
Barret: You call that a friend?  
Cloud: Yeah, well... He's older than me, and he hardly ever talked about himself.  
Tifa: ...  
Cloud: So I guess you'd call him a war buddy, We trusted each other. Until one day...  
Aerith: ...one day?  
Cloud: After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against the Shinra. ...that was 5 years ago. I was 16... **_

The scene shifted to Cloud's memory. Cloud was in a truck with ShinRa soldiers and Sephiroth. Sure enough, Sephiroth was quite friendly with Cloud, and they talked a bit more until a monster attacked them. Sephiroth and Cloud went into battle with monster. Vincent almost laughed at the difference of HP and between Sephiroth and Cloud. Cloud died a few times, but Sephiroth revived him and finally defeated the monster. Then they arrived at Nibelheim.

_Uh oh_, thought Vincent.

* * *

Oh NO! MY PLOT IS ALL WRONG! NIBELHEIM IS MENTIONED HERE, SO EARLY IN THE GAME! ARGHHHHHHH! 


	6. Chapter 6

In the game, Sephiroth explains the mission to Cloud. When Cloud asks where, Sephiroth replies, "At the Mako Reactor at NIbelheim." See, Nibelheim is already mentioned so early in the game! So what I'm going to do, is pretend that Cloud never asked Sephiroth where XD Thanks for reviews, yayy! Oh, I am also not going to bother with Cloud playing Tifa's piano, because there is no way in hell nobody would know what or how to play it unless guided by a walkthrough or a friend's help or something. Maybe I'll have Ellie go on the internet, but that'd ruin all the fun in Vinnie helping her. Hmmm... what to do, what to do? Oh, and to oreokids… Vincent will bake a cake on Ellie's birthday. -

**Lost and Found : Chapter 6**

Silently Vincent panicked, not knowing at all why as this was Cloud's memory, and Vincent was never in it until now. _I miss my coffin, _thought Vincent sadly, wishing to go back to his eternal slumber to atone for his sins. Also to be rid of a particular cat who was now lying beside his foot.

On screen, Cloud was entering each of the houses. Vincent watched boredly as he entered Tifa's house, and then his own house. Then he entered the bar.

_**Woman: Who are you?**_

_**Cloud: I'm Cloud.**_

_**Woman: Cloud? Is that really you...?  
**_

A flash appeared on screen again. Cloud mutters,"That's strange... I don't remember going in there." Vincent was by now thoroughly confused. Ellie directed Cloud back to the inn, and Cloud goes to sleep. The next morning, Cloud waited with Sephiroth for the guide to arrive. Sephiroth had hired a guide to the Mako Reactor.

_**Tifa's Father: Listen to me, Sephiroth. In case something happens...   
Sephiroth: ...Trust me.  
Tifa: I'll be all right, Dad! I have two men from SOLDIER with me. (to Sephiroth) I'm Tifa. Nice to meet you.  
Cloud: Tifa! You're the guide?  
Tifa: That's right. I just happen to be the number one guide in this town.  
Cloud: It's too dangerous! I can't involve you in something like this!   
Sephiroth: Then there's no problem if you protect her. ...Let's go.  
Camera Man: Ummm... Mr. Sephiroth! Please let me take one picture for a memento! Tifa, can you ask him for me too...? (Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth stand together) Cheeeeese! Great, thank you! I'll give each of you a copy once I get it developed! **_

They made their way up to Mt. Nibel. Vincent almost gasped out loud when the bridge that was holding Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa and two soldiers collapsed. After Sephiroth decided that everyone was alright, Ellie amused herself by trying to take away Sephiroth's materia and putting it on Cloud. (A/N: I did that in the game, hehe! When I tried to remove it Sephiroth said, "...") But obviously nobody toys around with the General, so Ellie didn't get any materia from him. Finally, after passing through a beautiful Mako Fountain and Cloud asking stupid questions to which he was supposed to know the answers, they arrived at the Reactor. Cloud blatantly refuses to let Tifa go in, and asks the other soldier to stand guard by the entrance of the reactor. Tifa pouts and throws a tantrum, to Vincent's amusement. Inside the reactor, Sephiroth found the malfunction that was causing the breeding of monsters.

_**Sephiroth: Why did it break...? Hojo. But, even doing this, will never put you on the same level as Professor Gast. This is a system that condenses and freezes the Mako energy... that is, when it's working correctly. Now... what does Mako energy became when it's further condensed?   
Cloud: Uh, ummm... Oh yeah! It becomes a Materia.  
Sephiroth: Right, normally. But Hojo put something else in there. ...Take a look. Look through the window. Cloud looked.  
Cloud: Wh... what is this!  
Sephiroth: Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako. You're different from the others, but still human. But, what are they? They've been exposed to a high degree of Mako, far more than you.  
Cloud: ...is this some kind of monster?   
Sephiroth: Exactly. And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced these monsters. Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy. That's what these monsters really are.  
Cloud: Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different? H... hey, Sephiroth!  
Sephiroth: N...no...Was I? Was I created this way too? Am I the same as all these monsters...?**_

Sephiroth takes out his Masamune, and starts slashing randomly._ Hojo ... You created a monster, you brought this upon everyone... _thought Vincent angrily, clenching his fists. The scene shifted back to the inn at Nibelheim. Cloud walked towards the ShinRa mansion (Vincent's stomach gave a lurch). Ellie found the door to the basement (another lurch) and walked down the stairs. She came to two rooms, and she tried opening the first one (another almighty lurch) but to no avail. _Phew... _She directed Cloud to the other room, which looked like a library, and went over to talk to Sephiroth. Sephiroth was reading one of the books in the library.

_**Sephiroth: (reading a book) ...an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova... X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient ...X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor I approved for use... My mother's name is Jenova... Jenova Project... Is this just a coincidence? Professor Gast... Why didn't you tell me anything? ...Why did you die?**_

Cloud could get no more out of him, as Sephiroth asked to be left alone. At that point Vincent almost felt pity for Sephiroth. Almost. Later at night, Cloud got out of bed again. Ellie directed him down to the basement, and talked to Sephiroth.

_**Sephiroth: Ha, ha, ha... Who is it? Hmph... traitor.  
Cloud: Traitor?   
Sephiroth: You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you. Cetra was a itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But, those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving back one whit in return! Those are your ancestors.  
Cloud: Sephiroth...   
Sephiroth: Long ago, disaster struck this planet. Your ancestors escaped... They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports.   
Cloud: What does that have to do with you?  
Sephiroth: Don't you get it? An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients... no, the Cetra! ...I am the one that was produced.  
Cloud: Pr...produced?  
Sephiroth: Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me.  
Cloud: How...how did he...? Se...Sephiroth?  
Sephiroth: Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother. **_

Cloud ran all the way back to town, only to find his hometown in flames. Ellie directed him to his own house... but he came out of it alone, shaking his head sadly. Suddenly Cloud saw Sephiroth kill two people with his Masamune at the end of the bridge near the ShinRa mansion. Vincent and Ellie watched a short clip of Sephiroth smiling evilly with flames all over the place, and turning back to proceed to the reactor, to his 'mother'. The screen then shows Cloud at the Mako Reactor. Tifa's father was lying on the ground, dead, his daughter mourning his loss and cursing Sephiroth.

_**Tifa: Papa... Sephiroth? Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he? Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako Reactors... Shinra... Everything! I hate them all!  
Sephiroth: Mother, I'm here to see you. Please, open this door.  
Tifa: How could you do that to papa and all the townspeople? **_

Tifa attempted to kill Sephiroth with his own Masamune but Sephiroth easily took the sword from her and slashed her. Tifa flew in the air in a rather dramatic way, and tumbled down the stairs. Then Sephiroth went inside the room with Jenova. Cloud picked Tifa up gently and put her aside, and then following Sephiroth inside the Jenova room.

_**Sephiroth: Mother, let's take this planet back together. I've thought of a great idea. Let's go to the Promised Land.  
Cloud: Sephiroth... My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them?  
Sephiroth: Ha, ha, ha... They've come again, mother. With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become the ruler of the Planet. But they... Those worthless creatures are stealing the Planet from Mother. But now I'm here with you so don't worry. **_

Vincent and Ellie both winced as Sephiroth took off Jenova's head.

_**Cloud: What about MY sadness? My family... friends... The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me? It's the same as your sadness!   
Sephiroth: Ha, ha, ha... my sadness? What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?  
Cloud: Sephiroth... I trusted you... No, you're not the Sephiroth I used to know! **_

Cloud draw his sword and Sephiroth strode calmly towards him. Then, the memory ended quite suddenly. The scene shifted back to the hotel in Kalm, where the rest of Avalanche were listening to Cloud's story.

_**Cloud: ...and that's the end of my story.  
Barret: Wait a damn minute! Ain't there more?  
Cloud: ...I don't remember.  
Aerith: What happened to Sephiroth?  
Cloud: In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him.  
Tifa: Official records state Sephiroth is dead. I read it in the newspaper.  
Cloud: ...I want to know the truth. I wanted to know what happened then. I challenged Sephiroth and lived... why didn't he kill me? **_

_That's because he underestimated you_, thought Vincent. _But of course you wouldn't know it then... _On screen, everyone was confused, but they decided to get a move on. Before they left the inn, Cloud received a PHS, which enabled him to change party members at any save point or world map. Ellie saved her game and turned it off, stifling a yawn. Vincent's legs were already numb.

"Well, that was boring... I'm gonna go sleep, Vinnie, night..." said Ellie, grabbing Fluffy and going off to her own room.

_Boring...? That was quite informative... although a bit confusing.. _thought Vincent happily. And so he went off to his own room, looking forward to the next day to see more of what he had missed out in life.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the long wait! School has started, so i'm only allowed online on weekends T.T Sigh. This chapter, YUFFIE! wee heee

**Lost and Found : Chapter 7**

Vincent tossed and turned about in his bed, stil pondering over what he had seen. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Why is it Cloud could not remember his past properly? He replyed the scenes in his mind, stopping where Ellie had finished, being given the PHS.

Vincent sat up quite suddenly. _I wonder... _He took his phone out and dialed Cloud's number. _He should be answering his phone by now... He should have changed after that..._ While waiting for Cloud to pick up the phone, then only he remembered that Cloud's phone had dropped into the water. Sighing, he hung up. After seeing Marlene's look of disbelief that he did not have a phone, he purchased a mobile phone after the Reunion incident.

He dialled Tifa's number, and while waiting for her to pick up this time, he wondered what he should tell her. _I'm stuck in a foreign planet. AVALANCHE does exist, but as disfigured characters in a role-playing game. _Would they believe him...?

"Hello...?" said a very groggy voice on the other end of the line.

"Tifa?"

"Vincent? Do you have any idea what time is it now?"

"Sorry."

"Is it something urgent? Well, you'd better speak to Cloud, hang on a second..."

"Vincent?" said yet another groggy voice on the other end of the line.

"Cloud."

"What is it...?"

"Cloud, I'm stuck on another planet," said Vincent.

"What?"

"Another planet. I woke up one morning to find myself on solid ground. I, am in CANADA, which I doubt you've ever heard of it before."

"No, I haven't... Are you telling me you can't come back?"

"I haven't tried. I took refuge in a mansion, and I've been staying there ever since."

Cloud had a sudden vision of Vincent bursting through the doors and firing shots everywhere, and then of Chaos breaking free and terrifying other humans. He shuddered.

"But, your claw, your gun... you mean they just let you in, like that?"

"Yes."

"Right... we'll find a way to come get you. Goodnight."

"Wait, Cloud. There's something you must know. I'm living with a sixteen year old girl whose parents will be away for months."

"Yeah, we'll try not to frighten her, don't worry."

"She's not frightened of me. She has been playing this game called Final Fantasy 7."

"Vincent, it's late, I want to sleep.. If it's unimportant, please stop..." said Cloud irritably.

"The main character in that game is someone that goes by the name of Cloud Strife."

"Someone's named after me? In a game? That's cool."

"No, Cloud. It's not someone named after you. It's you."  
"Me?"

"Yes. Tifa, Barret, Nanaki.. They're all there. Even Aeris." There was a moment of silence after that sentence.

"And... What are they doing in a game...?"

"They, are going after Sephiroth."

"What?"

"The story of our lives. Your life. It's all in a game. In this world, technically we don't exist. I have been guiding Ellie in playing the game, and along the way I have seen some interesting scenes in your past."

"What interesting scenes?" said Cloud, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Ahem... Don Corneo."

"What?" Vincent almost exploded with laughter at Cloud's reaction, but merely let out a low chuckle.

"So, I request that you do not come barging in to the house for the next few weeks or so. Not until Ellie finds out who I am. Is that all right?"

"Why? And how come Ellie has no idea that you're part of AVALNCHE?"

"The game starts off when you first joined AVALNCHE, and met Barret and Tifa. You only found me when you went to Nibelheim. Ellie has not reached that part of the game yet, and it will be long before she does."

"Right... so where has she stopped then?" asked Cloud, curious in spite of his sleepiness.

"You have just left Midgar, and stopped at Kalm. You told everyone about your history with Sephiroth."

"Oh... I see."

"I would appreciate it if you stopped by at Nibelheim and check on the coffin to see if there is a portal there. But do not go through it yet."

"Yeah, ok. So when do I actually come to take you back?"

"Hmm..." Vincent thought for awhile. Suddenly he recalled his conversation with Ellie a few hours ago...

"How about the 12th of March? It'll be her birthday then, and it would be a birthday surprise for her."

"Sounds good. I'll tell the rest. Goodnight, and take care."

"Goodnight, Cloud."

The next morning, Vincent awoke to prepare breakfast as usual. At around nine, he knocked on Ellie's room door to wake her. Fluffy came shooting out, mewing happily and Ellie said she was going to take a shower first. He laid the table, did the usual stuff, ate breakfast with Ellie, shoved Fluffy out of the way, washed the plates and finally got round to watching Ellie play the game.

Ellie put Cloud, Tifa and Red XIII together and directed them to head southeast toward the town Vincent recognised as the Chocobo Farm. Cloud went in, and the were about four chocobos penned up and looking absolutely cute and adorable to Ellie. She talked to the one nearest to her and they did a rather cute dance, and Ellie received a Choco/Mog materia. Vincent was slowly falling asleep by the time Ellie finished learning how to catch a chocobo, and actually managed to catch one too.

"Stupid Choco Billy! I have no more money now!"

Ellie directed the chocobo to head to the cave, trying desperately to outrun the Midgar Zolom. When they reached the cave, a scene depicting a dead Midgar Zolom impaled upon a dead tree played on screen. Cloud suspected Sephiroth might have done it. They then entered the cave, and after heading right and up the stairs she received an Ether. After getting into a battle, Vincent finally decided to pay attention to the game. A monster used Flamethrower on Nanaki._ That's an enemy skill_, thought Vincent.

"Ellie, did you equip anybody with an Enemy Skill materia?"

"No, why?"

"Equip it onto Cloud. Flamethrower is an enemy skill. It's more powerful than Fire, but less powerful than Fire2."

Ellie did so, and Cloud acquired Flamethrower. Ellie navigated herself through the cave and found a Long Range Materia. After exiting that screen to the left...

_**Rude: Just a second!  
Tifa: Who are you?  
Rude: Do you know who I am?  
Cloud: From the Turks, right?  
Rude: Well if you know, then this won't take long. It's difficult to explain what the Turks do…  
Cloud: Kidnapping, right?  
Rude: To put it negatively…you could say that. …But, that's not all there is to it, anymore. ………… …………  
Elena: Sir! It's all right, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!  
Rude: …Then Elena, explain.  
Elena: I'm the newest member of the Turks, Elena. Thanks to what you did to Reno, we're short of people. …Although, because of that, I got promoted to the Turks… In any case, our job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed. And to try and stop you every step of the way. Wait a minute, it's the other way around… You're the ones that are getting in our way.  
Tseng: …Elena. You talk too much.  
Elena: Sorry…Tseng.  
Tseng: No need to tell them about our orders. Now go. Don't forget to file your report.  
Elena: Oh! Right! Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbor!  
Tseng: …Elena. You don't seem to understand.  
Elena: Oh! I'm, I'm sorry…  
Tseng: …Go. Don't let Sephiroth get away.  
Rude & Elena: Yes sir!  
Rude: (to Cloud's group) …Reno said he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all…with a new weapon.  
Tseng: Well, then… …Where's Aeris? She's not with you?  
Cloud: Aeris isn't with us. She's with the others.  
Tseng: Oh… Then give her my regards. **_

Vincent smirked at Elena and Tseng on screen. The Turks had really defected ever since he left. After getting the Elixir, Ellie exited the screen and reappeared on the World Map again. Without stopping by at Fort Condor, she headed to Junon after saving her game. Somewhere in the forests near Junon... Cloud's group encounters a mystery ninja who Vincent recognized at once. Ellie engaged battle, and defeated Yuffie.

**_Mystery Ninja: Man…… I can't believe I lost… You spikey-headed jerk! One more time, let's go one more time! _**  
There were two options, Fight and Not interested. Ellie chose not interested.  
**_Cloud: Not interested.  
Mystery Ninja: Thinkin' of running away? Stay and fight! FIGHT, I said! C'mon…… What's the matter? You're pretty scared of me, huh? _**  
Again, two options. Ellie chose to fight, before Vincent could say anything. Yuffie bumps into one of the characters and runs off with 500 gil.

"Nooooo!" wailed Ellie.

"Ellie, Yuffie is a character in this game. I think you have to choose the correct options before she joins you."

"Argh... Stupid Yuffie..."

Ellie reloaded her game again, and fought with Yuffie again. This time Vincent helped her choose which option to answer.

**_Mystery Ninja: Man…… I can't believe I lost… You spikey-headed jerk! One more time, let's go one more time! _**  
**_Cloud: Not interested.  
Mystery Ninja: Thinkin' of running away? Stay and fight! FIGHT, I said! C'mon…… What's the matter? You're pretty scared of me, huh? _**  
**_Cloud: ……petrified.  
Mystery Ninja: Hmm, just as I thought. What do you expect with my skills? Good luck to you guys too. If you feel up to it, we can go another around. Later! I'm really gonna leave! REALLY!  
Cloud: Wait a second!  
Mystery Ninja: What is it, you still have somethin' for me? ……Hmmm. So is that it? I know you want my help because I'm so good! You want me to go with you?  
Cloud: ……That's right.  
Mystery Ninja: Heh heh…thought so. You put me in a spot. Hmm, what should I do? But if you want me that bad, I can't refuse… All right! I'll go with you! Cloud: ……Let's hurry on.  
Cloud's group left the scene.  
Yuffie: Huh? Hey… HEY! Wait! I haven't even told you my name…… I'm Yuffie! Good to meetcha! (to herself) Heh heh……just as I planned. Now all I have to do is…a little this……and a little that……nyuk, nyuk, nyuk... Hey, wait up! Wait for me! _**

Vincent smiled at the figure on screen. Ellie finally met her counterpart.

"Ellie, do you know how old Yuffie is?"

"No, do you?"

"Yes, she's sixteen. Just like you."

Ellie laughed. Vincent smiled. _Actually, she's 19 now, _thought Vincent. He pictured her ruling Wutai with an iron fist and couldn't resist yet another smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Since I have the time now, I'm going to write Chapter 8! Wee hee. Thank you reviewers! Oh, I reread my chapters, and I realised one horrible mistake... In the first chapter Ellie shouts to the dog "Down, girl!" and I named the dog Rex. LOL.

**Lost and Found : Chapter 8**

Cloud's party arrived in Junon after a few rounds of levelling up and battling. Ellie spent some of the money she had won from the monsters on a few Mythril Armlets. After exploring the run-down village, she directed Cloud to go down the stairs where there was a beach. There was a little girl playing with a dolphin.

"Oh, how cute!" said Ellie. "A bit disfigured, but..."

Vincent suppressed a snort with difficulty. _They were SUPER DEFORMED. Tifa looks much better in reality, and she's changed her style of clothing, and Cloud looks absolutely ridiculous in that purple uniform. And Barret's face on screen didn't show as much anger and irritation than in real life. _

"Oh, don't be so mean! They still look ok."

Vincent chose not to reply.

The little girl was not too happy with Cloud and his motley crew, because she thought they were members of ShinRa Inc, which Vincent felt highly insulted when he read the words on screen. Suddenly a creature Vincent didn't recognise appeared and attacked Priscilla, who had stupidly tried to warn the dolphin. Cloud's party engaged battle. Cloud, Tifa and Nanaki were on screen, fighting a huge whale-like monster. This time, Vincent decided not to say anything as he knew nothing about this strange monster. _Besides_, he thought,_ it's time to see how much Ellie has progressed_.

The whale, called Bottomswell, attacked Cloud with a technique called Bodyblow, which did quite some damage to Cloud, but effectively increasing his Limit bar. Ellie healed him using Tifa. Bottomswell launched a wave attack which damaged the whole party, but luckily Ellie used an All Cure, and by this time Cloud's limit had already reached its limit (A/N: hehehehe). Cloud attacked using Cross-Slash, which Vincent had never seen before and intrigued him. _Obviously Omnislash was more effective and kicked ass, but this was a different technique altogether. _He wondered what the word meant.

Ellie made Nanaki use his limit break too, Sled Fang, which Vincent also hadn't seen before, but it was relatively normal although it did good damage. Tifa used her limit break too, and Vincent almost laughed out loud at the slot machine on the screen. _Tifa doesn't choose her attacks like that! _She attacks according to the situation and her position and deals with it really well, and knows exactly where and how to hit. Vincent admired her for that. And alot of other people too, come to that. _Although, this was just the beginning of the game, so probably Tifa wasn't as good as she is now. _

After Tifa's Beat Rush and Somersault, Bottomswell cast some kind of bubble spell around Tifa, and Ellie squealed. Tifa's hit points were decreasing, and fast. She made Cloud attack Tifa, but it only served to do more damage to her.

"Vinnie, what do i do?"

"I do not know... try a magic spell," Vincent said uncertainly.

Ellie used Nanaki to cast Fire on Tifa, and it did work. The bubble was gone, leaving Tifa with low hit points. Leaving Tifa to heal herself, Ellie directed Cloud to summon Choco/Mog.

"It's a good summon, right?"

"Yes, at this stage. Its power is Wind and Time."

"Oh, right... Oh, look, it did so much damage! Maybe Wind is its weakness."

Nanaki attacked Bottomswell again, followed by Tifa and then Cloud. Bottomswell died, Ellie cheered, Vincent almost cheered. Almost. (A/N: Not quite there yet, are we?

lol). The gang went over to Priscilla, and an old man ordered Cloud to perform CPR on her. Directions on how to do it appeared on screen, and Vincent watched with amusement as Cloud did it on the screen. Finally after Ellie.. no, Cloud.. blew air into Priscilla for the fifth time, she regained consciousness. A woman offered Cloud and his party a room in the house on the left side of town, and there they rested.

The screen faded to black.

_**Mysterious Voice: …That reminds me.  
Cloud: You again? …Who are you?  
Mysterious Voice: …You'll find out soon. ……But more importantly, 5 years ago…  
Cloud: 5 Years ago… Nibelheim?   
Mysterious Voice: When you went to Mt. Nibel then, Tifa was your guide, right?  
Cloud: Yeah… I was surprised.  
Mysterious Voice: But where was Tifa other than that?  
Cloud: …I dunno.   
Mysterious Voice: It was a great chance for you two to see each other again.  
Cloud: …You're right.  
Mysterious Voice: Why couldn't you see each other alone?  
Cloud: …I don't know. I can't remember clearly…  
Mysterious Voice: Why don't you try asking Tifa?  
Cloud: …  
Yeah. Mysterious Voice: Then, get up! **_

Tifa woke Cloud up. He asked her about the event in Nibelheim, and Tifa replied saying she didn't remember. Tifa drew his attention to other pressing matters, and brought him outside. They met up with Priscilla, and she apologised shyly to Cloud for mistaking him as a member of ShinRa. She gave him a Shiva materia and Ellie cheered. "Shiva is so cool!" she had exclaimed to Vincent.

_**Barret: What's that music? It sure sounds lively.  
Priscilla: I heard that rehearsing the reception for the new Shinra president.  
Barret: Rufus? I gotta pay my respects.  
Priscilla: Grandpa and grandma told me this beach was beautiful when they were small. But after the Shinra built that city above, the sun stopped shining here, and the water got polluted… I was raised on that story and hate Shinra so much, I could die!  
Aerith: You think Rufus is thinking about crossing the ocean from here, too?  
Tifa: What? Does that mean Sephiroth already crossed the ocean?  
Red XIII: Cloud, didn't you finish Rufus off?  
Barret: We gotta get to the town up there… Mebbe we could climb the tower?  
Priscilla: No! No! There's a high voltage current running underneath the tower. Don't wander near it, it's dangerous! But…you might be able to if Mr. Dolphin helps you. Follow me!  
Tifa: High voltage tower…… I guess this means Cloud'll be all right.  
Aeris: Yeah, better leave it to Cloud!   
Red XIII: We're counting on you, Cloud!  
Cloud: Hey! Wait a second!**_

Vincent sniggered at poor Cloud the scapegoat on screen, and evil Tifa and Aeris. Priscilla gave Cloud a whistle, and when she blew it Mr. Dolphin came and jumped. Apparently, if at a correct position and time, Mr. Dolphin will jump Cloud up to the platform past the high voltage tower thingy. Sure enough, after several tries, Ellie finally managed to get Cloud to jump onto the platform.

"Vinnie..."

"Yes, Ellie?"

"I'm hungry.."

"...Do you want me to cook now? You haven't found a save point yet."

"Please...?"

"But... I want to see too," said Vincent, completely aware that he was close to whining and hating it.

"But... I'm hungry!"

"Ok, pause the game then, and help me in the kitchen..."

"This is my house! You don't order me around!" exclaimed Ellie, but she paused the game and got up to help Vincent anyway.

I had to stop here, I have no idea how to describe the parade part without boring you guys to death!


	9. Chapter 9

I'm so sorry for the long update!

**Lost and Found : Chapter 9**

While Vincent and Ellie happily ate lunch...

"So right now, he's in some & weird place called Kenada!#"

The evening after Vincent's call, Cloud had called everyone else on PHS and informed them about Vincent's whereabouts and plans for the 12th of March, which was Ellie's birthday. Cloud was now on the phone with Cid, and he was giving him a headache and earache thanks to Cid's constant bellowing and cursing.

"Yes, Cid. You'll have to fetch all of us to Nibelheim," Cloud shuddered a little at the thought of going back there.

"$#&! I ain't no #$ driver for all you &# idiots!"

"Stop # cursing us, you #$ $#!" said Cloud exasperatedly, but he didn't really mean it.

"#$#! Mosey off, ya stupid playboy, see ya on March 12th."

"Playboy?" muttered Cloud, and hung up. He sighed, nursing his headache. Yuffie had practically squealed and jumped for joy, and he couldn't help but smile when he remmebered the conversation. Yuffie was probably tired of ruling Wutai and needed a break. Barret had almost dropped the phone and Marlene and he blamed Cloud with a blue streak. Now, he still had to find a way to contact Nanaki. The fire-beast couldn't exactly pick up a phone.

Vincent was impatient. This was a feeling he didn't particularly like, because he was usually a very patient person. However, watching Cloud "prance" in the parade, getting onto the Shinra boat, Yuffie's motion sickness bored him out of his (and Chaos's) wits. Even the comical sight of Red XIII trying and failing to look human and stand on his two hind legs served no proper amusement. Vincent watched boredly as Ellie directed Cloud everywhere on the ship.

Suddenly the alarm sounded on the ship. Vincent shifted his position slightly on the sofa, leaning forward.

_**Radio: Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!  
Cloud met up with his group.  
Tifa: Everyone all right?  
Barret: You all right?  
Aerith: Huh?   
Tifa: Everyone's here…right?  
Barret: Hey, wait. You don't think that suspicious character is… Sephiroth?  
Tifa: Really? Barret: How the hell am I supposed to know?  
Cloud: …Let's find out.  
Red XIII: It's the most logical thing to do. Then, who's going to go?  
Yuffie: N, not me… I don't even like Sephiroth anyway. And besid……ugh……urk……**_

The menu screen popped out, and Ellie was required to pick two others to follow Cloud. After she had picked Yuffie and Aerith, she did the necessary materia arrangements and equipment. Vincent guided her a little, and instructed her on the allocations of materia. Once again Ellie wondered how he knew so much. Once again Vincent felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought of how Ellie would react when she finds out about him. _Maybe I should tell her first...? _

Upon reaching the engine room, Vincent noticed a chest on the right hand side of the screen. It contained a Wind Slash.

"What's Wind Slash, Vinnie?"

"I think this is a weapon, why don't you check your items?" said Vincent, absent-mindedly stroking Fluffy, who just leapt onto his lap.

"Okay... there it is. Doesn't look like a sword... what type of weapon is that?"

"It's a shuriken... Yuffie's, I suppose. Equip it on her."

Soon enough a battle occurred. Sephiroth dropped some tentacle-like slimy thing on the floor, and Vincent recognised it as one of the body parts of Jenova. The battle began and Vincent watched as the threesome did the necessary attack stuff. As usual, Ellie pounded Jenova with magic and attack and cured her party, waiting for anyone to reach their limit. Finally after a few series of attacks and Cloud's Cross-Slash, Yuffie's Greased Lightning and Aerith's effective Healing Wind, Ellie managed to survive the long battle.

"Phew... She kept casting Stop on me! Arghh..." growled Ellie exasperatedly.

"At this stage you do not have any higher-level magic to cure that in battle."

"I know..."

They got off the boat, and Ellie directed her party around Costa Del Sol. Exploring the area, she picked numerous things like a Fire Ring, Motor Drive and Power Source. She also bought some new accesories, namely Carbon Bangles and the like. She then headed down to the beach.

_**Aerith: Oh! Cloud!  
Tifa: Look, look at that!  
Cloud: Hm…? Who, Hojo…? Is that man over there, Hojo?  
Tifa: Go over and talk to him.  
Woman: God! What do you want? **_

If Ellie were more sensitive and aware, she would have notice Vincent clenching his fists and scowling deeply at the screen.

_**Hojo: No, I remember you all now…… Yes, yes. I remembered now. It's been a long time, Cloud.  
Cloud: Hojo……  
Hojo: Sometimes you just gotta do something like this.  
Cloud: ……What are you doing?  
Hojo: It should be obvious, I'm getting a tan.  
Cloud: Answer me!  
Hojo: Hmm! I believe we're both after the same goal.   
Cloud: You mean Sephiroth?  
Hojo: Did you see him? I see…… Ha! Ha!  
Cloud: What is it?  
Hojo: Nothing. I just remembered a certain hypothesis…… Haven't you ever had the feeling something is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place? ……  
Cloud: I'll go anywhere Sephiroth is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!  
Hojo: I see…… This could be interesting. Were you in SOLDIER? ……Heh heh heh! Would you like to be my guinea pig?   
Hojo: Ha! Ha! Ha! (to Aerith) ……Say aren't you the 'Ancient'?   
Aerith: I'm Aerith. The least you can do is tell me something, Professor Hojo… I know I'm an Ancient. My mother told me.  
Hojo: Your mother? Oh, you mean Infalna. How is she?  
Aerith: You didn't know? She died.  
Hojo: ……I see.  
Aerith: Professor Hojo… Is Jenova an Ancient? Is Sephiroth an Ancient? Do we all have the same blood?  
Hojo: ……mumble…mumble…head west……   
Aerith: He's mumbling slowly... That must means he's hiding something!  
Hojo: ………………  
Tifa: Hey! Answer us!   
Cloud: It's no use. It's no go. **_

_Hojo.. You bloody bastard_, thought Vincent. _I'm so glad I killed you_...


	10. Chapter 10

I'm so sorry for the last chapter! It sucked ... T-T Oh well, at least I skipped the parade part ... right? Right? As for the review regarding past tense and present tense ... I'm sorry I don't really know where I've written it wrong and how, I just write what I feel it is right ... which is obviously wrong,Lol. Erm, what's a beta reader? Thank you to all that have reviewed!

**Lost and Found : Chapter 10**

Ellie proceeded to head west out of Costa del Sol. Her chosen party members were Cloud, Barret and Tifa ... as Vincent had pointed out that their levels were the lowest. They continued on west, as Hojo had said. It was quite uneventful and Vincent grew bored with the encounters with monsters. During a few battles, Vincent had tried to teach Ellie some battle strategies until Ellie exclaimed, "Vincent, stop bothering me!" She was a little irritated and couldn't help wondering how Vincent knew so much.

"If you think you're so good why don't you just play it for me then?"

"I can't, I'll damage your machine with my claw..."

Ellie opened her mouth to retort, but then thought better of it.

On screen, Cloud and his gang reached a cave. They followed the path blindly; Vincent did not recognize where this place was. After saving the game at a save point, the screen changed to what look like an abandoned rollercoaster ride. The tracks looked old and dangerous, but having no choice left they moved along. Ellie directed Cloud to run to his right, and sure enough he did fall through a weak spot. A screen popped out and asks Ellie to choose between jumping or falling.

"Will I die?"

"Since you've already saved your game just now, why not take a risk? Besides, I think the only way you can die is in a battle. There must be a reason why they'd ask you this."

Quite recklessly, she chose to drop. Vincent knew it was the kind of thing Cloud would do, however it was much different in real life looking down and estimating if you could survive after a fall like that. Vincent thought hard… what lay to the west of Costa Del Sol? He was distracted by Ellie who was hitting a button on the controller so hard he was sure it was going to spoil.

"Ellie, what are you doing?"

"I don't know, it told me to press Circle as fast as I can while holding either the left or right button… Oooh, look, a Wizard Staff! That's gotta be for Aeris."

Cloud dropped once more, and this time Ellie obtained a Star Pendant for her efforts. She continued on and received more items, including Barret's W Machine Gun and a Transform materia. After running around some more and crossing a bridge, they arrived at North Corel. _Oh,_ thought Vincent dumbly.

Ellie walked around talking to the people, and Vincent learned that this was where Barret was from.

_**Citizen 1: You, you're… Hey! He's back!  
**__**Barret: (to Cloud) Wait here…  
**__**Barret approaches the citizen and the citizen punched him.  
**__**Citizen 1: Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again. Those **__**people over there, they with you? Well, I feel sorry for 'em! Hangin' around a **__**walkin' death sentence like Barret.  
**__**Citizen 2: You got a lot of balls comin' back here! Look at this place! It's **__**all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!  
**__**Citizen 1: Why doncha say something? Or did ya forget what you done here **__**already?  
**__**Barret: …I'm sorry…  
**__**Citizen 2: #$! You ain't even worth the effort.  
**__**Citizen 1: Don't waste time talkin' to that Techno-freak!  
**__**Barret: (to Cloud and Tifa) You heard 'em… It's my fault this town **__**was…destroyed…**_

Vincent felt… he couldn't explain what he felt. _Barret destroyed Corel? What? How can I not know about this? Of course, I do not pry about other's personal lives… Have I been so distant with them?_ He shook his head and tried to keep his concentration on the game. Ellie was in a shop, deciding what she should buy. Vincent realized that it was not Corel Sephiroth was in, but somewhere near it …

"Ellie, don't spend too much."

"Why?"

"You might need the money for later, if I'm not mistaken…"

"Okay… there's nothing much here anyway. Poor things, I feel sorry for them, look at how they are living!"

Cloud's group proceeds to the ropeway station. They met up with Barret there, Aeris fussing over him and asking what happened. Barret blamed himself for the town's destruction, and the story unfolds, the screen changing to Barret's memory of his hometown… Vincent leaned in for a closer look.

**Village Headman_: What are we going to do? The only one against this is Dyne...  
_****Dyne_: I am definitely against it, no matter what. There's nothing to talk about _**_**if you're thinking of throwing away our coal! Our coal's been protected for **__**generations. Our fathers, and theirs before them, risked their lives for it. We **__**have no right to throw it all away so easily!  
**_**Barret:_ But listen, Dyne. No one uses coal nowadays. It's the sign of the times.  
_****Scarlet:_ Right, everything is Mako, now. It'll be all right, Dyne. Shinra, Inc. _**_**will guarantee your livelihood once the Mako Reactor is completed.  
**_**Barret:_ Listen, Dyne. I don't want my wife, Myrna, to suffer anymore.  
_****Dyne:_ I know how you feel! I feel the same way too, damn it! But even so, I _**_**won't give away our coal mines!  
**_**Village Headman:_ Dyne…you've got to understand._**

Barret then tells Cloud and the group that Corel was burned by the Shinra troops and lots of people died. The memory ended. Cloud was shocked. So was Vincent. Barret explained that there was an explosion at the reactor, and the blame was laid on a rebel faction in Corel. He blamed himself for going along with the project … he lost his wife… and Dyne was his best friend too… Once again Vincent felt lucky to find out more about his friends through this game without having to prod and pry.

They boarded the ropeway to the Gold Saucer, and Vincent reprimanded Ellie for cursing when she was forced to pay 3000 gil for a one-time ticket. Barret ran away, obviously affronted with the idea of having fun. The members of AVALANCHE left separately, leaving Cloud and Tifa alone. Vincent suppressed the urge to snicker. Ellie explored the Gold Saucer, she seemed rather fascinated and kept talking to Vincent about it, but all Vincent could recall was Cait Sith tricking them ... Vincent groaned as he concentrated on the game. Ellie had reached the Wonder Square. This was where they had met Cait Sith.

_**Cait Sith: Hey you! What're you lookin' so down for? How 'bout it? Want me to read your fortune? A bright future! A happy future! Oh, but don't hold it against me if it's not a great prediction! Oh, so sorry! I'm a fortune telling machine. The name's…Cait Sith.  
Cloud: You can only read the fortune?  
Cait Sith: You kidding? I can find missing things, missing people, anything!  
Cloud: Then can you tell me where a man named Sephiroth is?  
Cait Sith: Sephiroth, right? Okay, here goes!  
Cait Sith performs his shuffle.  
Cloud: (reading the fortune) …Ordinary luck. It will be an active fortune. Give into the good will of others, and something big'll happen after summer. (to Cait Sith) …what…what's this?  
Cait Sith: Huh? Let me try again.  
Cait Sith performs his shuffle again.  
Cloud: (reading the fortune) Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is …blue? (to Cait Sith) …Forget it.  
Cait Sith: Wait, wait give me another chance! Wait! Let me try it again!  
Cait Sith self shuffles again for the third time.  
Cloud: …What the?  
Tifa: What does it say?  
Cloud: (reading the fortune) What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose something dear.  
Cait Sith: I don't know if it's good OR bad… This's the first time I ever got something like THIS. Then shall we?  
Tifa: Excuse me?  
Cait Sith: As a fortune teller, I can't help but think about this. If I don't see what it leads to, I won't be able to relax. That's why I'm going with you!  
Tifa: Is it all right, Cloud?  
Cait Sith: I'm comin' with you no matter WHAT you say!  
Cloud: H…hey! **_

_So that's how he managed to force himself on us. ShinRa planted him there earlier on, _thought Vincent acidly. However the cat was part of the group now, his actions forgiven by all of them. Thinking about it, he wondered if Cait Sith or Reeve would come to visit him on Ellie's birthday. He decided to give Cloud a call later. It was almost close to Christmas, and Vincent was dreading the day that would come when Ellie finally realised who he really is.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for those who have reviewed! To Indigo Angel, Don Corneo will pick either one out of three of them, depending on the choice of material and design of the dress and other hoo-haa, and I wanted Vincent to feel disappointed that Cloud wasn't chosen :P Seems like our dear demon has feelings after all, lol. Anyway I haven't had the chance to explain my absence. I'm currently using a laptop now, my dad took away the desktop. However to ensure that I did not use it all the time he put a password T.T and I was only allowed little time to check my mail and all that. Can't blame him, I've got a major exam this year, however he relented and now I have the password! Yay!

**Lost and Found : Chapter 11**

Looking at the screen, Vincent admitted grudgingly that the game was well-created. Everything was in place, the designs were correct and so was the World Map. Although he had only been to the Gold Saucer three times, and could not etch every detail of it into his mind, everything else seemed in order. As he thought more about it, other villages were the same, including Midgar ... the monsters and its attacks are the same, Cloud and his party are also correct, even every single annoying behaviour his queer friends had ...

_Who has this much knowledge about us? We are definitely real. We're not some video game created out of a director's fascinating mind, we're here... we bleed... we feel... _

Ellie was feeling quite stupid by now, not sure where to go after having picked up this weird moogle creature named Cait Sith. She noticed Vincent becoming quite quiet all of a sudden, however she didn't say much, not wanting to intrude. Vincent was a brood, but she liked him watching her play. Adults are rarely interested in games teenagers play, and those who are play the games themselves obsessively. Vincent, however, had never seen a Playstation before ...

"Vinnie, do you know what a computer is?"

There was silence from the man in question. _Do I really look so old-fashioned and alien? Even Marlene couldn't believe I owned a phone last time, but of course I've heard of computers before ... _thought Vincent exasperatedly as Chaos laughed at him.

"Yes, Ellie, I do know what a computer is," said Vincent, rather testily. Ellie laughed and concentrated on the game.

"Do you have one?"

"A computer? Yeah I do. It's dad's, but I seldom use it except to check mail." (A/N: That is so not possible for anyone in the world, but you'll see why later)

"I might have a look later. Something's happening to Cloud," said Vincent, motioning to the screen.

A ShinRa soldier fell to the floor, apparently dead. Cloud's group enters the battle arena, and some bloody corpses lay scattered around them. Vincent's first thought was Sephiroth. So did Cloud and Tifa, as said on the screen, but Cloud examined a corpse and said it couldn't be Sephiroth, Sephiroth doesn't use a gun. _Of course he doesn't, with that ridiculously long and sharp sword of his, _Vincent thought incredulously. One of the wounded staff said something about a man with a gun on his arm, and Vincent's thoughts immediately flew to Barret. Dio, the manager of Gold Saucer arrived and accused Cloud's group of murder. They attempted to flee but were trapped. Soon they were sent to Corel Prison, below the Gold Saucer. Again Vincent's interests were piqued, he had never been to this place before. **Of course not**, said Chaos nastily in his head, **YOU sent people to jail**. Vincent ignored this.

**_Tifa: Are you all right?  
Cloud: Where are we?  
Cait Sith: A desert prison… Corel Prison…  
Cloud: A desert prison?  
Cait Sith: Yup, a natural prison in the middle of the desert…surrounded entirely by quicksand. I heard that once you get in, you never get out… But, there was one special exception…  
_Cloud's group met up with Barret. _  
Tifa: Barret?  
Cloud: Barret… Did he really……  
Barret: Stay back! This's something I gotta deal with. Jes' leave me alone…  
_Barret ran off, leaving the scene and Cloud's group. _  
Cait Sith: Whew! That's one of your friends? He sure looks dangerous…  
Tifa: …Barret…… _**

Ellie directed Cloud in the direction Barret had run off, and came to a house. Barret yelled at them holding up his gun arm, Cloud panicked and tried to talk him into understanding, but he started shooting anyway. For a horrible moment Vincent thought they were goners, but another person fell to the floor from a hiding place, dead. Barret mumbled something about not wanting any of them to get involved, and at that precise moment Cloud's other group arrived. Red questioned Barret about the rumours of a man with a gun-arm ... was it true that Barret had killed those people? Barret shook his head and replied no, but there was another one who got a gun grafted into one of his arms ... the scene changed to Barret's memory when they came back from a trip. (A/N I can't remember, it doesn't say from where, sorry)

**_Old Man: Barret! Dyne! Come quick! The village's being attacked! It's Shinra soldiers!  
Barret: What? What the hell happened?  
Dyne: Hey, Barret! It's not over yet! Everyone's waiting! Let's go back to the village!  
_At the bridge, one of the Shinra soldiers shot and killed the old man. _  
Barret: Old man!  
Dyne: C'mon, Barret! We gotta hurry!  
Barret: Krggh!  
_Soldiers kept shooting at Barret as he dodges the bullets skillfully. It was at this point Vincent realised that his gun-arm was missing._  
Dyne: Watch out!  
_One of the Shinra soldiers opened fire at Dyne, narrowly missing him. Just as Dyne was about to fall, Barret grabbed Dyne's left arm. _  
Barret: Dyne! Hang on! Listen to me! You're comin' back to the village, hear?  
Dyne: Yeah… I ain't lettin' go… You're comin' back… Everyone's waitin' for ya… Eleanor…and Marlene… They all waitin' on us… _**

The scene zoomed in on Barret and Dyne. One of the bullets hit Barret and Dyne's arm, and Dyne fell off the cliff. The memory ended, and the scene changed back to Corel Prison. _So that's how Barret got his gun-arm,_ thought Vincent. _And ... what was that about Marlene?_ He shook his head and concentrated on the game. Barret said after the doctor did the surgery on him, the doctor mentioned that there was another man who went for the same operation, but on the left arm. After much pointless banter between Barret, Tifa and Aeris, he finally allowed them to be involved. The menu popped up in blue, asking Ellie to choose another party member to go with Cloud and Barret. Ellie picked Red, and off they left to find Dyne.

Ellie took awhile to look for Dyne and got into a few battles along the way, but finally they reached and there was a man with a left gun-arm there.

_**Barret: …Dyne… Is that you?  
Dyne: Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years… A voice I'll never forget…  
Barret: I always hoped I'd be able to see you again someday… I knew you were alive somewhere…we had the same operation.  
Dyne: What's that? ……I hear her voice.  
Barret: ……? Dyne: I hear her voice, Eleanor's voice. Begging me…not to hate your rotten guts. That's why I didn't hunt you down…  
Barret: …I know I was stupid. I'm not asking you to forgive me. But… What're you doin' in a place like this? Why ya wanna kill those that ain't even involved? Why?  
Dyne: …Why? The hell do you care for? Are the people killed going to understand 'why'? Are the people of Corel going to understand just hearing Shinra's excuses? I don't CARE what the reason is! All they give us are artillery and stupid excuses… What's left is a world of despair and emptiness…  
Barret: ……  
Dyne: You still want to hear 'why'? …All right, I'll tell you. 'Cause I want to destroy everything. The people of this city. This city itself. The whole world! I got nothing left in this world. Corel, Eleanor…… Marlene……  
Barret: Dyne, Marlene…… Marlene's still alive.  
Dyne: ……?  
Barret: I went back into town. I thought she was gone for sure. That is why I wanted to be by her side till the end. That's when I found her…found Marlene.  
Dyne: …  
Barret: She's in Midgar. Let's go see her together, all right?  
Dyne: So……she's still alive… All right, Barret. I guess that means you and I gotta fight.  
Barret: What?  
Dyne: Eleanor's alone all by herself. I've got to take Marlene to her.  
Barret: Dyne…are you insane?  
Dyne: Marlene wants to see her Mom, don't she? **_

Cloud tries to interfere with the raving lunatic, but Barret wouldn't hear of it. He yelled at Cloud, and as the catchy battle theme song blared, Vincent knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight. _Marlene isn't Barret's daughter ...? _

* * *

I'm not too sure if Vincent knows about Marlene. But in this fic, no. Lol. Till next time, bye byee 


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you to all who have reviewed! I'm so happy! Lol. One of the reviewers asked if theyll get to Canada soon, but they'll only arrive at Ellie's house on her birthday as planned, which is in March, and it's "currently" December. Close to Christmas, I'm still thinking about what they should do ... should Ellie bring Vincent out to see the sights? -cackles- there's a chance for everyone who knows to GLOMP Vincent.. lol.

**Chapter 12 : Lost and Found**

"Ackk! This guy's strong!" exclaimed Ellie, watching Barret on screen getting his ass whooped pretty badly.

"Or maybe, Barret's just weak because you did not train him well enough," said Vincent.

"He IS weak! He's so weak compared to Cloud!" Somewhere in Corel the "real" Barret sneezed, although they did not know that.Vincent thought otherwise. It was after all just a game, and they had started at low levels, Vincent knew he was right but didn't want to say so. Barret was strong, as strong as any of them. _All of us ... in AVALANCHE. We're all strong. We went through everything ... or mostly everything together, _thought Vincent.

"Luckily I put him in the back row, if not he'd get hell a lot more damage than this," said Ellie.

"I think your best chance is to use Barret's limit. You should be able to that frequently enough; his attacks are eating into you alot. Heal him as effectively as you can," suggested Vincent.

"I should have equipped Ifrit on him, he'd probably die straightaway," said Ellie ruefully. Vincent decided not to point out that the only summon worth summoning is the Knights of the Rounds. Even Chaos could beat Ifrit senseless. Actually that wasn't fair, maybe a mastered Ifrit might put up a good fight.

Finally Ellie managed to defeat Dyne, leaving Barret almost at KO stage. Dyne had thrown a Molotov Cocktail as his final attack, causing about 200 hp damage to Barret. Vincent still couldn't get used to the idea of life being counted in numbers. _How high is MY own HP now? Surely not 500 or 600? What level am I at now? Did someone TRAIN me using a controller? _thought Vincent frantically. **Valentine, you're losing it, AGAIN. **Vincent shook those thoughts and Chaos out of his head and concentrated on the game.

_**Dyne: Back! …it wasn't just my arm……back then……I lost something irreplaceable. I don't know where I went wrong…  
Barret: Dyne… I don't know either, man. Is this the only way…we can resolve this?  
Dyne: I told you… I… I want to destroy everything… Everything… This crazy world… Even me…  
Barret: An' what 'bout Marlene? What's gonna happen to her?  
Dyne: …Think about it… Barret… How old was Marlene back then…? Even if I did go to her now…she wouldn't even know me… And what's more…Barret… These hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore…  
Barret: ……  
Dyne: Barret… Give that pendant to Marlene… It was… Eleanor's…my wife's memento…  
Dyne tossed a pendant to Barret.  
Barret: All right…  
Dyne: …wow… Marlene's…already…… four.…… Barret… Don't……make…… Don't ever make Marlene…… cry…  
Barret: Dyne? Dyne!  
Dyne approaches the cliff and intentionally falls into the chasm.  
Barret: Dy-----ne! …Dyne. Me an' you were the same… My hands ain't any cleaner…… I shouldn't be able to carry… Marlene either… Uuuurrrrrrgghh! **_

And again, Vincent couldn't help but wonder ... _does Marlene know? How does she feel? Barret loves her alot ... surely she wouldn't mind ... right? _Though Vincent considered it pretty obvious that Marlene was not Barret's daughter, as none of them looked alike, he couldn't help wondering how nobody ever noticed. _Or maybe, they did, and it's just me being cold and aloof. But I care just like everyone else ... _Suddenly, Vincent's thoughts were interrupted by a tinny sound coming from somewhere near his midriff. His phone was ringing, he'd almost forgotten he had it with him.

"Excuse me while I take this call, Ellie," said Vincent and got up from the couch.

"Shall I stop?"

"No, just continue without me for awhile."

He pressed the button and held the phone to his ear, quite aware of Fluffy still tailing behind him playing with his tattered crimson cloak.

"Hello?"

"Vinnie!" yelled the voice from the other end. For a moment Vincent thought it was Ellie, but then he realised there was also one other person who called him that. Vincent could roughly hear Cid's ridiculously colourful language on the other side.

"Yuffie."

"Gawd, you're as monotonous as ever ..."

"And you've learnt a new word. A long one."

"Vinnie made a JOKE! Oh my GAWD, guys, Vinnie seriously made a JOKE! It's TRUE!" At every exclamation Yuffie made Vincent cringed twice.

"Learn to differentiate joke from insult, Yuffie. Now why did you call?"

"I'm here with the other guys, and I know you're at that crazy place wherever you are, but it's gonna be our anniversary party soon, you know, the day we defeat Sephiroth? Yeah so we were wondering if you could make it back or something and let us know what's been goin' on over there ... Also... I'm sure..." Yuffie's voice trailed away, and Vincent could feel the silence hanging in the air on the other side.

"You're sure of what?"

"I'm sure Aeris would want ALL of us to be there," said Yuffie in a tiny voice. _Of course, _Vincent thought. _It's almost three years_ ... how could he forget? They would get together again and go to Aeris's watery grave and spend the night there... But could Vincent even go back? Was the portal still there?

"When are we going to visit Aeris?" asked Vincent.

"Umm... yo Cloud! When are we gonna visit Aeris again? Next week? Next week, Vinnie. SO can you make it?"

"Please pass the phone to Cid, Yuffie." There was a shuffling sound and a muffled yell of "Vinnie wants to talk to ya, Gramps! CAAATCCCHHH!" and "Yuffie, NO! MY PHONE!" and "Watch it, ya fucking BRAT!" and a loud crash and "DON'T CALL ME BRAT!" and "DON'T FUCKING CALL ME GRAMPS!" and a lot more muffled shouting. Vincent sighed and waited.

"S'up Vamp?" said Cid, finally.

"Did something break?" asked Vincent casually.

"Yeah, I fell over the coffee table trying to catch the phone the brat threw .. so what?"

"I will come to visit Aeris but I'm afraid I can't stay the night there with you guys. The Sierra should be able to drop me back in an instant, correct?"

"Yeah, but that means you ain't gonna party with us?"

"No, I can't leave Ellie by herself without an adult near her, the most I can spare is only a day. Give the rest my apologies, but I'll be there to visit Aeris, for sure."

"Right, Vamp, we'll come pick you up on the day itself. We'll send ya back by nightfall. Nibelheim?"

"Yes, the portal is there. Thank you."

Vincent picked Fluffy up and went back to the living room, settling comfortably on the sofa. Ellie, it seemed, had gotten tangled up in chocobo racing, when she should be escaping from there.

"Care to enlighten me, Ellie?"

"Oh right, the only way to escape is if Cloud wins the chocobo race. This is my third time racing, I can't seem to get the hang of it. It's so different than Chocobo Racing, another game by itself."

"There's a game called Chocobo Racing?"

"Yeah. You can take a look at it over there," said Ellie, pointing to a folder of games beside the machine.

Vincent picked it up and scanned the cover of the game, and there was a cute yellow chocobo with rollerskates and a Moogle and othe characters he did not recognise.

"I don't even know why I bought it, I don't have anybody to race against with," said Ellie. Then suddenly Ellie turned to face Vincent with a grin.

"Saaay..."

"No, Ellie. I can't play with you. My claw will only damage your machine."

"We'll see about that!"

"Dinnertime!" said Vincent, getting up abruptly from the sofa, getting away just in time.

* * *

What do you think? Lol. Should Vincent play? Yes he should, yes he should! Wait till he finds out that Cloud is also in Chocobo Racing! 


	13. Chapter 13

Chocobo Racing IS a game by itself. A rather old one too, lol. If you keep playing the Story mode, you can unlock characters like Squall from FF8 (in the cute little car he hijacked during the assasination attempt) and Cloud on his Fenrir... Even Bahamut is a character with his Mega Flare attack. Lol. It's fun and addictive and you can use magic along the race, even Ultima. Check it out! Tee hee. Okaay, the portal is in Vincent's coffin. Pretty unusual place, but that's how he fell into it while sleeping. The portal is still there, somewhere in the forests where Vincent got lost in, and if he goes through it he'll be able to get back to NIbelheim. I still can't come up with an explanation on how the portal got there though :( Oh well. Oh yeah, Vincent doesn't want to play the game because ... well... he's not exactly playful, if you get what I mean, like, it's hard to force someone who doesn't eat hotdogs to eat hotdogs, you know? Right, lol. Vincent won't hold for long ... lol. To those of you who have not played this game before, I'm sorry but this idea struck me ... Btw, can anybody tell me the timeline of Dirge of Cerberus? Is it three years after Meteor or something?

**Lost and Found : Chapter 13**

Vincent sat brooding in the kitchen. It was still too early for dinner and he had already ran out of ideas on what to cook for Ellie. They were running out of things to cook, and he made a mental note to tell Ellie. Ellie was still playing, thankfully she had managed to win the Chocobo Race. Actually he was only assuming she had gotten out from Corel Prison, because of her cheers and whoops. Vincent was in the kitchen and dared not go out to the living room to be dragged into a game of Chocobo Racing ...

"Vinnie you're missing the game you know," came Ellie's sly voice from the living room. Vincent cringed, for the umpteenth time and so many minutes.

"I know, Ellie ..."

"Come on out! I do need your help you know ..."  
"..."

Vincent sighed, and strode back into the living room. He sat down on the couch, watching the screen ... _Wait a minute, why's the screen black ...? _

"Chocobo Racing, Vinnie!" said Ellie happily, dragging Vincent down onto the floor with her, thrusting a controller into his hand.

"Ellie ..."

"Vinnie... come on... I don't have anybody to race with ..." pleaded Ellie.

Vincent hesitated, but there was no escaping as the game had already started. **Too old to be playing games, Valentine? **snickered Chaos in his head and Vincent scowled. On screen there was a cute chocobo left behind as all the other racers zoomed off.

"Ellie, what about the other game? Final Fantasy ... um, Seven..."

"Oh, I got out, found myself in the World Map, I can save anywhere on the map. So I saved my game. Was getting tired of it anyway, time for some racing fun! I'll teach you how to play."

"But, my claw..." said Vincent helplessly, picking up the controller.

"Oh, it's just your left hand right? You only need your left hand to control the analog, the grey stick thingy there, all you have to do is push up or left or right, no big deal. You won't spoil the controller."

"Ellie, I still don't think ..." said Vincent helplessly again, putting the controller back down on the floor.

"Don't worry Vinnie, I'll go easy on you!" said Ellie, thrusting the controller back to Vincent.

"That's not what I..."

"Okay, to accelerate press the Square button, brake is the X button, and to use magic is this R1 button and to use your ability is the L1 button. See? Simple! Along the tracks there are magic stones, among them are stuff like Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Reflect, Death, that causes you to explode in ten seconds, umm ... Haste, that's to make you go faster, and Mini, and also Ultima, that's the most powerful one. It doesn't kill you, none of them does, it just slows you down because you either explode and take time to recover. Some magic can be accumulated, like Fire, Blizzard and Thunder and Ultima, the maximum number of the SAME magic stones you can collect is three, that's the most powerful. So like, basically, if you get one Fire stone, you could just wait until you come across another one and pick it up, then your magic will be stronger. Then press the R1 button to use it on me. Okay? There are different types of abilities too, you can only use them when the Ability Gauge is full. But some abilities are used automatically, as soon as the gauge is full. Okay? Okay, let's play!"

Vincent blinked. He understood basically everything, but he was still quite in a bit of a shock. _When was the last time I have actually played a game? _**Don't believe you ever have, Valentine. Your dictionary doesn't know the meaning of fun, **said Chaos, laughing at him. _What would YOU know about it? You've only been in my head for three years, not since I was born, _Vincent shot back.

"Okay, okay, let's try the EASIEST track to see if you get the hang of it," said Ellie, opening the Select Racer screen. Vincent stared at the controller in his hands, and to the screen, not quite sure what to do. He felt exactly like when he first met Fluffy. Now he decided he preferred cats to dogs. Could this... make a change in him too?

"Come on, Vinnie, no harm in trying! Select a racer!" said Ellie, selecting the White Mage. Vincent studied all the characters on screen, undecided. Ellie had picked a cute little girl with pink hair on a magic carpet. **Valentine, you're not going to war. Just pick a racer and get on with it! I wanna watch Ellie kick your ass in this race, **said Chaos irritably. Vincent rolled his eyes and selected Bahamut. At least that was a familiar face.

"Okay, now pick an ability! You can read a description of the ability underneath the cute icons, there. I'm taking MagicPlus!" Vincent decided he couldn't care less what Magic Plus was, and he just took the one that appeals most to him, Mega Flare. Bahamut's own attack, no doubt.

"Ready? Let's go!" yelled Ellie happily, grinning at him.

On screen, Vincent saw that Ellie had indeed picked out the easiest track. The road was just straight from the starting line, a curve to the left, then to the right, then a very long right curve and then it's back to starting point. Vincent was still afraid of damaging the controller, so he held it gingerly in his hand and claw. The game started, and Ellie zoomed off, leaving Vincent behind and a very joyful Chaos whooping in his head. Vincent was behind but not a long way, and soon they came to the first batch of magic stones. Vincent, not bothering, simply flew through one and obtained a Thunder stone. The green stone with a Bolt shape on it tagged along behind Bahamut, a cute sight to behold. He saw Ellie had gotten a Blizzard and discarded it. They came to the curve, and there was another batch of stones, Vincent didn't see what Ellie managed to get but he spotted another Thunder stone. He flew through it, and the new Thunder somehow combined with the previous thunder. He pressed the R1 button. Vincent flew past Ellie, smirking, leaving Ellie behind cursing. Chaos groaned loudly, the smirk on Vincent's face grew bigger. Ellie had used a reflect, he did not waste any of his stones on her because he had a shrewd idea of what reflect might do. However he was almost there, the finish line ... Ellie was only right behind him... He reached the line first, and set the controller down, still smirking to himself as Chaos cursed and sweared. A few seconds later Ellie passed the finish line too, but to Vincent's surprise, she flew on some more.

"Vinnie, what are you doing? There are THREE laps!" said Ellie, laughing as her character flew past, taking the lead and leaving Vincent way behind.

"What? I did not know!" said Vincent, hastily picking the controller up, ignoring Chaos's deep, mocking laughter. It sounded like the monster was having one of its best days. Needless to say, Ellie won that round.

After a few rounds of losing terribly to Ellie, Vincent decided it was time for dinner.

"Ellie, there are little supplies left in the kitchen, I'm afraid I cannot cook anything up tonight."

"Oh okay, well just order pizza then."

"Give me the number and I'll order, and turn off the machine, it's getting hot," said Vincent, picking up the phone. Ellie switched the PlayStation off and went upstairs, presumably back to her room. Vincent placed an order for a chicken pepperoni, and a bottle of Coke. After awhile Ellie came back down, drying her hair with a towel. Evidently she had just taken a bath. Vincent looked at his on clothes and decided they were too filthy._ I need to go back to Nibelheim_, thought Vincent. They sat at the dining table, waiting for their pizza.

"Ellie, I need to go out tonight," said Vincent.

"Where?"

"Somewhere... just to check on something."

"Tell me, Vinnie! Where?"  
"I cannot tell you, Ellie... It will only take awhile."

The doorbell rang. Ellie jumped up to answer the door, and came back with the pizza. They ate in silence for awhile, as Vincent's thoughts were mainly on the portal in the forest. _What if it isn't there? What if it is there, but after I go through the portal it disappears? What will Ellie do when she finds her housekeeper missing? _Suddenly the house phone rang, interrupting Vincent's thoughts. Ellie answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello darling, sorry we didn't call earlier, tonight's finally our first free night, we've got so much to do. How are you over there? How's the housekeeper?"

"Hi Mom. I'm fine, I've been playing my new game," replied Ellie cheerfully. She looked over at Vincent, who gazed back at her, and realised that her mother would probably throw a fit if she found out she had hired a male housekeeper.

"What about the housekeeper? Has she been doing her job well?"

"Yeah, she cleans up the house pretty well. Her cooking is great too," lied Ellie uneasily, avoiding Vincent's gaze. She prayed hard that her mother would not ask to speak to Vincent.

Vincent heard Ellie's lies. But he didn't blame her, he knew she just did not want her parents to worry about her. However sooner or later her mother would surely decide to speak to him, as the housekeeper. **Why don't you practice sounding like a girl, Valentine, **said Chaos, cackling. Vincent rolled his eyes. Obviously that was impossible, since his voice was so low. Vincent finished his piece of the pizza and decided to go check on the portal. Walking towards Ellie, who was still on the phone, he pointed towards the door. Ellie gave him the keys and waved him away, still chatting with her parents, so Vincent strode off towards the forest quickly. It was snowing rather heavily, and Vincent hoped he would be able to locate the portal, if not he would never be able to go back to his world. _How does the portal look like? Strange... when I woke up I did not see it ..._ He walked into the forest, and tried vaguely to recall which way he had last came from. And also to remember which way he should take to get back. **Portal's just straight ahead, Valentine. **_How would YOU know? And why are you helping me? _**I've not had this much fun in years. Being stuck in someone's head who only wants to sleep is torturing for a demon like me. **_... Thank you._

Vincent walked on for awhile, until he spotted something purplish on the snowy ground. The area around it was just snow, and it looked like trees were surrounding that small circular area only. Cautiously, Vincent picked up a stick and prodded the purplish thing. He quickly let go of the stick when he felt something pulling it. Sure enough, the stick had disappeared. _Should I go back? I really do need to bring some clothes back to Ellie's house. _Vincent took a deep breath ... and stepped forward into the portal... and something hard hit his head. The lid of his coffin, apparently. He was crouched in a weird position in his coffin. Quickly he lifted the lid up and looked around. _Just grab my clothes and go back to the mansion ... Ellie can't stay alone in the mansion, should something happen to her I have only myself to blame ..._

Meanwhile back in the mansion, Ellie was now talking to her father.

"Ellie dear, I have something I need to tell the housekeeper, could you pass the phone to her please?" said her father. Ellie panicked, Vincent was not there. _Quick, think up an excuse ... _thought Ellie frantically.

"She's not here right now, Dad, I sent her out to buy food stuff. Running out of supplies. What is it? I can tell her for you," said Ellie, praying hard for her father to get off the topic. She really needed to discuss this with Vincent later.

"Oh, then just tell her to make her burden easier, just clean the rooms that are frequently used. There's no need to go about cleaning every corner of the house every day. That's way too much, even your mother can't handle that."

"I'll tell her that. Bye Dad," said Ellie, and hung up the phone. She went back to the dining table to continue eating what was left of the pizza. Patiently she waited for Vincent to come back. It was still rather early, about 7.30 at night. She could still squeeze in a bit of Final Fantasy before going to bed.

* * *

There you go! There's no FF goodness here, but I decided to take a break XD Please review! Thanks alot! 


	14. Chapter 14

**Lost and Found Chapter 14 **

Ellie had just sat down and was about to switch the Playstation on when she heard the front gate creak open. She peeked out through the window and saw Vincent locking the gate,and trying to dodge Rex at the same time. Vincent was covered in snow (and a little bit of dog drool) and he appeared to be carrying a bundle of clothes. _Where did he get those from?_ thought Ellie in wonder, eyeing the black clothes in his arm. Vincent quickly excused himself to put away the clothes. When he came back down after a fresh change of clothes, Ellie had already started playing.

"Where did you get those clothes from, Vinnie?" asked Ellie, while navigating this weird vehicle called a buggy. Vincent thought desperately for an excuse.

"I ... went shopping," lied Vincent uneasily.

"Why didn't you say so? I could have asked you to buy some more food stuff ... we really have nothing else to eat in the kitchen," said Ellie.

"We can go tomorrow. Or you could live off pizza."

"So what are you supposed to be doing now?" asked Vincent, settling down comfortable on the sofa.

"I'm supposed to go to this place called Gongaga. The guy said south of the river, so I'm still getting there... Man, even in a buggy I have to fight monsters ..."

Finally, after quite a lot of battles and after crossing the river, Ellie spotted a building surrounded by trees, and it looked old and ruined. _Gongaga ..._ thought Vincent. _A failed reactor. The people who live there... _Vincent pushed his thoughts away and concentrated on the scene. _A redhead ...? Reno ... and Rude. _

_**Cloud: (to himself) …Is someone there?  
Reno: Hey, Rude. Who do you like? What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on? Who do you like?  
Rude: ………Tifa.  
Reno: Hmmmm... That's a tough one. But, poor Elena. She... you...  
Rude: No, she likes Tseng.  
Reno: I never knew that! But Tseng likes that Ancient...  
Cloud: What are they talking about?  
Elena: It's so stupid! They always talk about who they like or don't like. But Tseng is different. Ah! Oh no! They're here! They're really here!  
Reno: Hmm... Then it's time... Rude... Don't go easy on them even though they're girls.  
Rude: ...Don't worry, I'll do my job.  
Elena: Then, we're counting on you. I'll report to Tseng!  
Reno: (to Cloud) It's been a while. Payback time for what you did in Sector 7.  
Cloud: Out of our way.  
Reno: I don't like being taken for a fool. **_

As the battle began, Vincent's thoughts began to jumble up as he processed the information he had read on the screen. _Rude likes Tifa? What? Rude likes Tifa...? Rude likes Tifa. ... Elena likes Tseng. That one was pretty obvious. Hmm ... Tseng likes that Ancient ... Tseng likes ... Aeris! And ... Aeris likes Cloud. Did she ...? Didn't she ...? And Cloud likes ... Aeris? Or was it Tifa? Or will it always be Aeris? And Tifa likes Cloud... _**What about you, Valentine? **boomed Chaos's voice, snickering.** Who do YOU like? Was it Yuffie...? **Vincent shuddered and pushed Chaos out of his mind, together with the mental picture of him and Yuffie. As Yuffie would have put it, "GROSSNESS!"

On screen, Ellie's party consisted of Cloud, Tifa and Barret. Reno was hitting them with Lightning spells, throwing Bolt Plumes and other items at them. Rude seemed to be hitting everyone except Tifa. Vincent smirked as Ellie directed Tifa to attack him.

"Haha! Sucks to have the hots for her, too bad she's gonna be kicking your ass!" said Ellie, laughing. Vincent couldn't help feeling sorry for Rude, and after awhile they were both beaten and Cloud's party in good condition. After Reno and Rude ran away, the screen changed to where Cloud was standing at a fork in the road. Ellie decided to move up, and soon Cloud's party came to a ruined reactor. A ShinRa helicopter suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Cloud's group hid. A woman clad in red who Vincent recognised as Scarlet stepped out.

_**Scarlet: ...Hmph! This isn't any good either. You only get junky materia from junky reactors. This reactor's a failure. What I'm looking for is big, large, huge materia. You seen any?  
Tseng: ...No I haven't seen it. I'll get on it right away.  
Scarlet: With Hojo gone, the Weapon Development's been getting a bigger budget.  
Tseng: I envy them.  
Scarlet: But, even if we make the perfect weapon, could that stupid Heidegger even use it?  
Tseng: ...  
Scarlet: Oh... sorry! I forgot Heidegger was your boss! Ha ha ha!  
Tseng: ...  
Scarlet: Let's go!  
Cloud: (to himself) Big, large, huge materia? An ultimate weapon? The perfect weapon? Just what are the Shinra up to...?**_

_With Hojo gone? Where did Hojo go?_ thought Vincent, trying hard to think back. Then he remembered that he wasn't part of AVALANCHE yet. Ellie directed Cloud into the reactor after Scarelt left, and she managed to obtain a Titan materia. Vincent explained to Ellie that Titan was another summon materia, just like Shiva and Ifrit. Ellie directed Cloud back to the other side of the fork and she got a Deathblow materia. Vincent explained again, that this materia was a command that enables critical damage but sometimes doesn't work. She continued on, and soon she came to Gongaga Village. She decided to go in all the houses, and started with the one on the lower right. It was a small, cozy house, with an old man and woman inside it. Ellie directed Cloud to talk to them.

**_Man : That ... SOLDIER uniform. Boy, are you in SOLDIER?  
Cloud : I used to be. I'm an Ex-SOLDIER, First Class.  
Woman : Then do you know my son ...? My son, Zack ... he was in SOLDIER too, First Class._**

The screen flashed. Cloud shook his head.

**_Cloud : No, I'm sorry ... I don't know anyone by the name of Zack.  
Woman : Oh, my son ... I've not heard of him in five years ... if you have any news of him, please tell us... _**(A/N: This wasn;t in the game script, so I made it up with what little I can remember. It was something like this. Sorry.)

Ellie directed Cloud out of the house and into the other buildings, which were shops and other stuff. She did a good deal of shopping until Vincent decided to stop her, and she directed Cloud's party out of Gongaga. Vincent showed her how to use the Manipulate materia and Enemy Skill materia together as a bonus, and they spent a great deal on the beaches trying to Manipulate Beach Plugs for the Enemy Skill Big Guard.

"There, I've got it! So ... where to go now ..." said Ellie thoughtfully, glancing at the clock after saving her game. It was going to be ten soon.

"I don't think it was mentioned."

"Then how am I supposed to know where to go? I'm supposed to be chasing Sephiroth ..."

"Try looking at the World Map ..."

_The closest place to Gongaga was Cosmo Canyon, but surely Sephiroth wouldn't go there ..._ thought Vincent. He pointed it out to Ellie anyway, and she tried to find the route to that place. Eventually, after finding a shallow spot in the river to cross, she spotted the town. But Vincent declared bedtime, and so she saved her game, grumbling all the way back up the stairs, carrying a sleeping Fluffy with her.

"Ellie, before you go ... where is the computer?"

"Oh... two rooms beside yours. Goodnight Vinnie," said Ellie, closing her room door. Vincent entered the room; switching the light on. It looked like a study room, rather small and cramped because of the shelves of books, and the desk and computer. He switched it on, silently wondering what he should do with it. _Maybe I can find some information ... _A small window popped out at the bottom of the screen, which said "Connected to Internet". Vincent stared silently. _I do know how to use a computer, but this is really too different ... _

After clicking on some stuff which Vincent had no use for, he opened something called an Internet Explorer and a window popped out. The word GOOGLE popped out, and below it a search bar. Unsure, Vincent typed in the words "Final Fantasy VII" and clicked on Search. A list of links and description of the links containing the word Final Fantasy VII came out, and Vincent clicked on the topmost one ... which led him to The game synopsis appeared and he skimmed through it quickly, glancing at the pictures of Cloud, Aeris and Barret beside it. He couldn't see himself anywhere. Then he found the link to Characters. He clicked on it ... and saw his name and a drawing of him, right at the bottom after Yuffie. _What the ... am I smiling? Why am I depicted as smiling? Or maybe it's just my mouth. _Leaning nearer to the screen, he clicked on his profile and began to read.

**Vincent Valentine **

Age : 27  
Birthdate : October 13  
Weapon : Gun

**Vincent, once having a secret past with Shinra, joins Cloud in an effort to resolve the torture in his soul and the horror Shinra inflicted upon him. Although he is quiet and frail, a dark and frightening power hides within. Although it seems Vincent was merely a subject for experimentation, his existence is an even deeper secret. /**

_I'm NOT 27, _thought Vincent. **Oh, look, they mention me too, "the dark and frightening power ..."**

Vincent closed the screen and opened a new one. This time he entered his name into the seach bar. The topmost link that came out read "Abandoned Hope (vincent valentine of final fantasy vii". Intrigued, he clicked on it ... and the screen came out with words he knew he had said to Cloud before. _I was with ... ShinRa Manufacturing in Administrative Research ... also known as - The Turks. _Vincent cringed when he read it. He clicked again, and this time in a blue box, he read the welcome note.

"You have stumbled upon Abandoned Hope, a fansite dedicated to Vincent Valentine."

Vincent read it again and again. _Fansite? What does that mean? Does that mean I'm famous ...? I AM in a game ... a famous game too. Technically, I do not exist ... so how am I to go shopping with Ellie tomorrow?

* * *

_

Poor Vincent! He'll get mauled by thousands, millions of fangirls (and boys)! Btw, that website is really interesting. I hope I don't get sued though.


	15. Chapter 15

Ahem ... let me take the time to advertise my other fic ... tee hee. It's called "In Dreams We Meet", it's a FF7 FF8 crossover. This chapter has quite alot of script, because it's Cosmo Canyon up next, so there'll be lots of mumbo-jumbo about the Planet and all. Sorry.

**Lost and Found : Chapter 15**

Ellie woke up with a yawn, stretching and stroking Fluffy's head. She took a look at the clock on her bedside table and jumped out of bed in alarm. Eleven already! Why didn't Vinnie wake me up! thought Ellie, getting dressed and running all the way to Vincent's room, banging on the door.

"Vinnie! Why didn't you wake me up?" moaned Ellie. She heard a groan from inside, and awhile later Vincent opened the door, looking extremely tired and groggy, his hair and clothes messy.

"My apologies, Ellie," he mumbled, then trudged back to the bed, flinging himself onto it. _I hope this works ... _thought Vincent hopefully. **Valentine, you'd better pray to ME it works. Planet help you if you take one step out of the house, **said Chaos in his head. _Planet help THEM if I take one step of the house. If I can't control myself ... _**I get some fun! **Vincent rolled his eyes into his pillow.

"Vinnie, what's wrong ...? Are you okay?" asked Ellie, peering down at him.

"I think I'm sick," Vincent mumbled softly, trying very hard to ignore Chaos's snorts in his head.

"Sick?"

"It must have been the cold yesterday, when I went out..."

This was too much for Chaos, he burst into howls of laughter, and Vincent clutched his head; the laughter was giving him a headache. **A cold? A COLD! Vinnie, you are practically INCAPABLE of falling sick. A COLD, I tell you, **said Chaos and continued laughing at him again. **How are you gonna fake sneezing, Vinnie? **snickered Chaos.

"I'm afraid I can't follow you shopping today Ellie," said Vincent, grimacing at the 'sneezing' comment made by Chaos. Also the fact that Chaos has started calling him Vinnie.

"It's just a cold! Don't be silly," said Ellie, touching his forehead. "You don't even have a fever!"

"Just call the deliveryman or something, and order all the supplies you'd like..." said Vincent, fervently wishing he had a fever. He will NOT step out of this house, no way, not unless he wanted to be maimed by thousands of fangirls (and boys) everywhere. The horrors he had seen last night through a computer screen ... Vincent gripped the sheets of the bed and moaned.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it ... but you have to get out of bed," said Ellie firmly. "Or I'll sic Fluffy on you."

"Fluffy's cute," said Vincent matter-of-factly, as he had become fond of the cat.

"Right, whatever, get out of bed! Man, I'm the housekeeper now ..." said Ellie, mumbling to herself. At once, Vincent felt guilty.

"I'll prepare breakfast ..." said the man, making his bed and following Ellie to the hall.

After some toast and a phone call to some deliveryman in town, Vincent rested on the couch and pretended to look sick while Ellie turned on her PlayStation. Vincent still felt bad for lying to her, but frankly he did not wish to resort to killing innocent fangirls hopelessly in love with him. He shuddered, letting his imagination get the better of him.

"Hmm... where did we stop yesterday?" said Ellie thoughtfully, as she waited for her game to load.

"You were going to go to Cosmo Canyon," replied Vincent lazily as he shifted around in his position on the couch. He always sat upright, so he felt a little weird. The game loaded and Ellie finally arrived at Cosmo Canyon, and the guard at the entrance greeted them. Red XIII, or Nanaki as the guard was now addressing him, bounded out happily and exclaimed "I am home!" _Nanaki never told me he was from Cosmo Canyon ... then again, no one really talks to me much. _The guard then explained a little about the place, about how people from all over the world came here to seek the study of planet life. However, he did not let Cloud's party enter as it was full, but Nanaki insisted that the guard let them in, as gratitude for having saved his life from the hands of Hojo.

_**Cloud: Who is Nanaki?  
Guard: Nanaki is Nanaki. That's his name.  
Red XIII: Here is where I was... I mean, ...this is my hometown. My tribe were protectors of those who appreciate this beautiful canyon and the Planet. My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her... I am the last of my race.  
Cloud: Cowardly father?  
Red XIII: Yes. My father was a wastrel. And so the mission I inherited from my ancestors, is to protect this place. My journey ends here.  
Bugenhagen: Hey! Nanaki--! You're home!  
Red XIII: Coming, Grandpa!  
Barret: Good timin'. Let's take a breather. I got stuff I want to find out, too. **_

Ellie directed Cloud to follow Red XIII, or Nanaki, and Vincent noted yet again that it was depicted with astounding accuracy. It was exactly how he remembered it ... and he still couldn't help but wonder if they were really just made up from a game. Along the way, they stopped by several shops and Ellie splurged alot of money on weapons and materia. Finally they reached the top of the cliff, which Vincent recognised as Bugenhagen's house. Bugenhagen appeared, floating on the air abnormally as usual, although Vincent never questioned that. And how he came to be Nanaki's grandfather is still a mystery, but he concluded that it was just sort of like an adoption.

_**Red XIII: Cloud, this is my grandfather, Bugen. He is incredible. He knows everything.  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. I hear that you looked after Nanaki a bit. Nanaki is still a child you see.  
Red XIII: Please stop, grandfather. I'm 48.  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Nanaki's tribe has incredible longevity. So you see his 48 years would only be equivalent to say that of a 15 or 16 years old in human reckoning.  
**_

"15 or 16!" exclaimed Ellie and Vincent, together, although Vincent's "exclamation" wasn't exactly an exclamation. _Nanaki is 51 years old now, so that's technically almost the same age as me ... or almost the same age as Yuffie. _

_**Cloud: 15 or 16?  
Bugenhagen: He's quiet and very deep. You thought he was an adult?  
Red XIII: ...Grandfather. I want to be an adult. I want to grow up to be able to protect you and the village.  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. No Nanaki. You can't stand on your own yet. To do that now would destroy you in the long run. Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars from the great city of Midgar. You seen it, haven't you? Well, that's a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective. When it's time for this planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing.  
Cloud: ...When the planet dies?  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. It may be tomorrow, or 100 years from now... But it's not long off.  
Cloud: How do you know this?  
Bugenhagen: I hear the cries of the Planet. Cloud: What's that?  
Bugenhagen: The sound of the stars in the heavens. While this goes on, planets are born, and die.  
Cloud: What was that?  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. That was a scream from this planet. Didn't you hear it? As if to say... I hurt, I suffer...  
Red XIII: They have come here on a journey to save the planet. Why don't you show them your apparatus?  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. To save the planet? Ho Ho Hoooo! But, then again, I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him. **_

Vincent watched as Nanaki informed Cloud that only three people were allowed in the machine at a time. Barret and Tifa joined Cloud, of course chosen by Ellie and they headed up towards Bugenhagen's house again.

_**Bugenhagen: Hmm, yes pretty good. This is my laboratory. All the workings of space are entered into this 3D Holographic System.  
Tifa: Look, look! A shooting star!  
**_

Vincent watched in fascination at the shooting stars and planets revolving in the Solar System. No matter if the graphics were not very good, he could still picture the realty of it in Bugenhagen's house. He made a mental note to ask Nanaki to bring him there again next time, to see it through his own eyes.

**_Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Yes, it is something, isn't it? Well, let's get to the subject. Eventually... all humans die. What happens to them after they die? The body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. What about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns to the Planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on this Planet. In fact, all living things in the universe, are the same. The spirits that return to the Planet, merge with one another and roam the Planet. They roam, converge, and divide, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream'. Lifestream... In other words, a path of energy of the souls roaming the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a word that you should never forget. A new life... children are blessed with Spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the Planet... Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world. I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this. Bugenhagen: ...These are the basics of the Study of Planet Life.  
Cloud: If the Spirit energy is lost, our Planet is destroyed...  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Spirit energy is efficient BECAUSE it exists within' nature. When Spirit energy is forcefully extracted, and manufactured, it can't accomplish its true purpose.  
Cloud: You're talking about Mako energy, right?  
Bugenhagen: Everyday Mako reactors suck up Spirit energy, diminishing it. Spirit energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away. In other words, Mako energy will only destroy the Planet..._**

The scene ended and the room grew bright again, and they trudged out of the room. They go down, leaving Bugenhagen and Nanaki alone, as he parted them with words of advice. Soon they reach the Cosmo Candle, the bright bonfire that burns for eternity, and for once Vincent wishes he could have been there with them. He watches the screen closely as they all sat down around the campfire. Ellie directed Cloud to talk to Aeris first. _Seems like she's more of an Aeris fan. _

_**Aerith: I learned a lot. The elders taught me many things. About the Cetra... And the Promised Land... I'm... alone... I'm all alone now...  
Cloud: But I'm... we're here for you, right?  
Aerith: I know. I know, but... I am the only... Cetra.  
Cloud: Does that mean we can't help?  
**_

_It wasn't your fault, Cloud,_ Vincent mused_.Aeris would not let anyone help her at that time. She did what she could ... Cloud has already gotten over Aeris's death. When will be my turn...? Lucrecia ... _

**_Tifa: Cloud... Bonfires are funny, aren't they? They make you remember all sorts of things. You know, Cloud. 5 Years ago... ...It's nothing. No, forget it. I'm afraid to ask...  
Cloud: What is it?  
Tifa: It feels like... it feels like you're going far away... You really, really are... you... right? _**

Finally, Cloud talks to Red XIII. Or Nanaki. Vincent was quite confused by now. However he had the particular suspicion that Nanaki secretly enjoyed being called Red, as a nickname, as though it had some sort of affection behind it. _And what had Tifa meant by five years ago ...? Or currently, eight years ago...?_

_**Red XIII: ...Long ago. ...When I was still very small. We were all around this flame... No, never mind...  
Cloud: What happened?  
Red XIII: It's about my parents. When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy... And that's fine. ...But when I remember my father, my heart is full of anger...  
Bugenhagen: ...You really can't forgive your father...?  
Red XIII: Of course. He... left mother for dead. When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the Canyon!  
Bugenhagen: ...Come, Nanaki. There's something you should see.  
Red XIII: ...?  
Bugenhagen: The place may be dangerous. Cloud. Will you and one other person come with us? **_

"Who should I take, Vinnie?"

"Perhaps Aeris. It is up to you."

"Man, I hope it's not a boss I'm fighting ... I'm so not prepared ..."

Cloud and his party followed Bugenhagen up to the place where there was a metal door fitted. Earlier on, Ellie had tried to open it but a little boy said Bugenhagen had sealed this place and forbidden anyone to go near it. Vincent was beyond curious. _What was it that Bugenhagen wanted to show Nanaki? _Bugenhagen opened the door, and they went inside.

**_Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Everyone's here's a Ghost of the Gi Tribe. Killed in a certain battle.  
Red XIII: A certain battle...?  
Bugenhagen: The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't disappear, and couldn't return to the Lifestream... We still have far to go. Ho Ho Hoooo.  
Bugenhagen: As you can see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. It was unfortunate that the Gi were larger then us. If they attacked through here, we wouldn't have stood a chance.  
Bugenhagen: This warrior went through the cave all alone. Fighting attackers one after another...  
Red XIII: Grandpa... That warrior...  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo... We're almost there. _**

Along the way, and after a lot of battles, Vincent was glad Ellie had stocked up on essentials because the battles were quite difficult. They had managed to grab some stuff like Added Effect Materia, which Vincent explained its uses to Ellie, and a Black M-Phone presumably for Cait Sith, and a Turbo Ether. Finally they reached the last screen after navigating their way through the maze ...****

Bugenhagen: After death... The ghosts of the Gi... Like stagnant air... This can't be!

The boss battle theme sounded, and Ellie groaned.

"Help ..." squeaked Ellie. "I don't wanna die, I forgot to save!"

"Are you sure?" said Vincent sceptically. He pondered the words Bugenhagen had said, and if he wasn't mistaken, this boss was an undead one.

"Of course! I'm going to die!" said Ellie, trying desperately to heal Nanaki as he got hit by some sort of spear attack.

"Do you have an X-Potion? Use it on him. It's an undead monster," said Vincent quickly.

"Are you nuts? It'll only heal him!"

"Trust me. I am sure about it."

Grumbling, Ellie searched for an X-Potion and directed Aeris to use it on the monster. Ellie watched in amazement as the monster roared, shrivelled up and died. Vincent spotted a materia and asked Ellie to get it. It was a gravity materia.

**_Bugenhagen: ...Thank you, Cloud. Because of you, we survived. Nanaki, you have grown strong, too.  
Red XIII: ...Oh yeah?  
Bugenhagen: Now I know that it wasn't a mistake bringing you here... Come, I have something I want to show you. Right over here. _**

Ellie directed them to head up, and standing there in a frozen position was a beast in a battle position. He looked oddly like Nanaki. It was stone, but ...****

Red XIII: This is...  
Bugenhagen: ...The warrior who fought against the Gi. He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon. But he was never able to return to town... Look, Nanaki. Look at your father, at the warrior, Seto.  
Red XIII: ...That's... That's... Seto...?  
Bugenhagen: Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here. ...To protect this Canyon. Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone... Even after they all ran away... Seto, continues to protect us. And he continues to protect us, even now.  
Red XIII: Even now...  
Bugenhagen: You thought that he was a coward and ran away. But he, alone risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father, Seto.  
Red XIII: That... that is Seto? ...? Did mother know?  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo... She knew. The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not to tell a soul. They said we should forget about this case. Red XIII: ...  
Bugenhagen: Cloud... Would you mind leaving the two of us alone?

Vincent watched, and as he felt a sort of heaviness on his chest, and his eyes began to sting._ I will not cry, _said Vincent firmly to himself. Even Chaos was oddly quiet. ****

Bugenhagen: Nanaki. I want you to continue your journey with Cloud and the others.  
Red XIII: Grandpa?  
Bugenhagen: Listen, Nanaki. Cloud says they are trying to save the planet. Honestly, I don't think it can be done. For even if they stop every reactor on the planet, it's only going to postpone the inevitable. Even if they stop Sephiroth, everything will perish. But, Nanaki. I've been thinking lately. I've been thinking if there was anything WE could do, as a part of the planet, something to help a planet already in misery... No matter what happens, isn't it important to try? Am I just wishing against fate? I am too old to do something about it... This year, you must go with them! For my sake.  
Red XIII: Grandpa...  
Bugenhagen: I wanted to show you your real father before you left... I'm so glad that you came back while I was still alive to show you.  
Red XIII: Grandpa... don't talk like that. I don't want to think of life... without you...  
Bugenhagen: Ho Ho Hoooo. Well, I've had a long life.  
Red XIII: Grandpa! You must live! I'll see to it. I'll see to what's happening to the planet. And I'll come back to tell you.  
Bugenhagen: Nanaki...  
Red XIII: I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior, Seto! I'll come back a warrior true to that noble name! So please, Grandpa...

Sad music starts playing as the scene shifts slowly upwards to the statue of Seto, and of the two tears that dropped from his petrified eyes. Red XIII howls to the moon, to his father, the warrior who he had thought wrongly about him. Vincent felt a lump in his throat, and he consciously cleared his throat.

"Lunch," said Vincent abruptly, and he swept off to the kitchen to avoid looking at Ellie, to avoid her seeing the single tear glisten down his cheek. He would not cry, no, but a single tear will do for now.

000

Hope you guys liked it! There was a lot of script here... hopefully it wasn't boring ...


	16. Chapter 16

I'm very very very very very very sorry for the long wait! Finally, after TWO MONTHS of exams … And that's only my bloody TRIALS … PLUS I had writer's block … lol.

And now ... I give you ... the Nibelheim CHAPTER! WOOOT!

Note : I shall refer to Nanaki as Nanaki from now on.

This chapter was done using the FINDING VINCENT GUIDE of ffguides. think I need a beta reader. Unfortunately I don't really know how it all works. Like, how, where, what ... Someone care to enlighten me?

* * *

**Lost and Found : Chapter 16**

"Vinnie, don't be silly. The deliveryman isn't even here yet, how are you going to cook?" came Ellie's voice from the living room, creeping into the kitchen where Vincent currently stood, preparing to cook.

Vincent halted in his steps, before groaning inwardly. Attempted escape : failed. He walked back to the living room, keeping his face emotionless. Of course he should have known better. He resolved never to let the game get past his emotional barriers. He turned back to the matter at hand ... lunch.

"Then what would you have for lunch?"

"Order some Chinese takeaway, it's been a long time since I've had that," replied Ellie absently, as she watched the screen. Vincent glanced at the screen; AVALANCHE was gathered around the Cosmo Candle. He decided he wouldn't mind if he missed that part a little bit. Then his mind registered what Ellie had said to him.

"Chinese ... takeaway?" said Vincent uncertainly. Ellie paused, then turned to look at him.

"You don't know what that is..?" said Ellie incredulously. "Like, you know, noodles, rice ..."

"Oh, I do. I'm sorry. I did not know it was called Chinese food. What number do I call?" _Wutainese (1) ... Chinese? _thought Vincent.

"Okay, never mind, I'll do it," said Ellie, getting up from her seat. Vincent opened his mouth to insist that he should call, but Ellie waved him away and ordered the food herself.

"Done," said Ellie brightly. "Now let's get back to the game!"

Cloud and his party had been ready to leave Cosmo Canyon, without Nanaki of course, now that he had returned home, but he insisted on following them, saying that he "grew up a little", Ellie told Vincent as she directed Cloud's party out of Cosmo Canyon. Vincent nodded and settled back comfortably into the couch, watching Ellie get into numerous fights with monsters, as she headed up north toward the river. _North toward the river ... What?! _Vincent jumped up off the couch, startling Ellie and Fluffy.

"I ... feel sick. Carry on without me, I need to use the bathroom," said Vincent hurriedly, while walking quickly to the toilet. Ellie blinked, shook her head and continued on with her game.

Vincent locked himself inside the bathroom, closed his eyes and began to think. _Nibelheim ... she's going to Nibelheim now. What am I going to do? **Valentine, calm down ... **I am not prepared for this. How will she react? How should I react? **Valentine, what ...?** What if she becomes a crazy fangirl? What am I going to do? **VINCENT!! Shut the fuck up and think straight! **_

Vincent took a deep breath, gathered his emotions and marched out.

"Are you okay, Vinnie?" said Ellie, turning to look at him. "You do look a little pale, though it's hard to tell because you're so fair."

"I am fine, I just had a stomachache," lied Vincent, seating himself on the couch. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm in a town called Nibelheim," replied Ellie, and Vincent felt his stomach lurch. "But it's weird, because it burned down years ago, remember? During Cloud's flashback in ... what was that town's name, Kalm, was it ... Sephiroth burned it down but I've asked around and nobody seems to recall it being burnt down. And there are loads of these black caped men, but they've given me loads of items."

"Hmm... so where are you now?"

"I'm in this... ShinRa Mansion. I went in that room and found a safe, but I couldn't unlock it, and then I came in here and there's this note by a Professor Hojo ..." Vincent winced and groaned and cursed mentally, all at one go, "... and I think these clues are for the numbers to that safe, because I sort of accidentally found one clue, which was an empty spot below the three clues, and it said Dial (4) : Right 97."

"So all you need to do is find the other three clues," said Vincent. He did not know Hojo had set this up. _Why did he not just throw the key away or something? Did he want me to be found? I cannot be of much help to Ellie now ... _

"Yeah. I know you're smart, Vinnie, so you'll have to help me, because I'm not leaving until I get whatever's in the safe," said Ellie cheerfully. "Clue number 1! It says, the lid of the box with the most oxygen."

Vincent pondered over the clue. "The most oxygen ... that would mean plants, because plants give off oxygen," said Vincent finally. "Are these two the only rooms you've been to?" asked Vincent.

"Yes, I've not been to every room yet."

"You will need to find a box located near plants. I am guessing that this number is written somewhere on the box."

Ellie navigated her way through the mansion, getting into more battles and fights. Ellie was tired of it, and finally resorted to running away after what seemed like the twentieth battle she had gotten into. Vincent's memory of the mansion was far better than the graphics in the game, and it was coming back to him now.

"I think ... the room on the second floor would be my closest guess," said Vincent. Sure enough, there was a box there, and after examining it twice, Ellie found another number.

"Quick, write it down somewhere! Or memorize it, if you can! Dial (1) : Right 36." Vincent need only read it once to memorize it, and gestured for her to open the second clue.

"It says, behind the Ivory's short of tea and ray. What the hell? What kind of clue is that?"

A tiny smile played across Vincent's lips. _This was fairly simple_, he thought. **Sure, if everyone had your IQ**, muttered Chaos darkly from inside his head. Vincent blinked. _Was that ... a compliment, monster?_ **I compliment you and you call me a monster. Fuck you. **

"Ellie. Piano keys are made out of ivory. It's referring to the back of the piano we saw on the first floor."

"You actually REMEMBER the piano?" said Ellie in awe. Obviously she didn't remember. Vincent coughed a bit, his throat dry. He remembered the _real _piano in the ShinRa Mansion, not the one in the game.

"Yes," said Vincent, trying (and failing) not to sound smug. Ellie pouted.

"Right ... It says here, Dial (2) : Left 10. Since you're so smart, you memorize it," said Ellie playfully. A ghost of a smile on his face, he nodded, commiting the second number to memory. Ellie opened the third clue, and read it out loud.

"The creek in the floor near the chair on the second floor... Then to the left five steps, up nine steps, left two steps, up six steps. Oh, my, God, how are we gonna find that?" exclaimed the girl incredulously. Vincent decided he'd better copy the clue down on a piece of paper. No need for Ellie to poke fun at him, when there was already a demon in his head doing so, shouting random numbers at the top of his voice (which, for a demon, was very loud), to distract Vincent and make him forget the first two clues. Quickly, he scribbled it down and smirked.

"Second floor," said Vincent, peering at the paper and then the screen. "It would be a bit difficult because there is more than one chair ..." he added, trailing off as Ellie groaned.

"Right, second floor .. but what did it mean by the creek? I don't see a river ... is there another meaning for creek?" Ellie began pressing the X button around each chair she saw. Then she moved on to the other rooms. Suddenly, by a dark red chair next to the bed, Cloud bent down and there was a sound like a squeak.

The ex-Turk meanwhile had kept quiet, mouthing the word silently to himself. _Creek, creek ... perhaps a misspelling? Creak? Hmm .. Oh. _

"It's this chair, Ellie. The game misspelled 'creek' on purpose. It actually means 'creak, c-r-e-a-k'."

"Right ... read out the steps for me."

"...Left five steps, up nine steps."

"...Done."

"...Then left two steps, up six steps."

"...Done. No clue."

"It should be around there. I doubt anyone can get it right on the first try."

There was silence, except for Ellie's continuous pressing of the buttons on the controller, searching every inch of the floor. Finally, she found it.

"It says, Dial (3) : Right 59," said Ellie, while Vincent jotted it down. He then asked Ellie for the fourth clue again, and then wrote it down neatly in order. Ellie directed Cloud to the safe, on the second floor.

"Be careful. Make sure you are properly equipped and fully healed. Have you saved your game?"

"Yeah, at the inn," she replied. On screen, a countdown showed 20 seconds and ticking, and a dial.

"Quick, Vinnie!!!" said Ellie, frantic. Flustered, Vincent fumbled with the paper, ignoring Chaos's laughter. He read out the numbers and directions to Ellie, but she didn't have enough time. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.

"Let's try again. Ready? Okay ... start!"

Again and again they tried, and even though they were just in time, their combination failed. Vincent thought hard, trying to recall if there was anything specific that must be done in order to open the safe. Then he noticed the safe and its type, and suddenly remembered. He had broken into a safe like this before, during his time with the Turks ...

"Ellie. You must not overshoot a number. If you do, the combination will fail."

"Huh? Overshoot a number?"

"Yes. If, for example, the first clue, you overshoot to 38 or 39, and then you move it back to the correct number, 36, your combination will fail. You must take care not to do so."

"Really? Wow, that's hard..."

Finally, she did it, with barely a second to spare ... and everything on the screen blended together, signalling the start of a battle. And knowing Hojo, a long, hard, battle. Ellie cursed and Vincent scolded. Her party consisted of Cloud, Yuffie and Aeris. Quickly, she directed Cloud to attack, and then the monster released Bolt2 on all of them, effectively boosting their Limit parameters, but not yet full. She made Aeris heal, and then Yuffie summon Choco/Mog, casting Stop on the enemy then quickly hacked away at it, with physical attacks from Cloud, summons from Yuffie and magic from Aeris. The monster regained its normal status, and split into another form, taking on a different appearance. It attacked with Bio2, causing poison to the three fighters.

Cloud's limit bar was flashing, quickly Ellie unleashed Cross-Slash on the enemy. Paralysed, the monster did not move, and again Ellie resumed damaging it as much as possible before it recovered. After a final attack by Shiva, the battle was over, her fighters severely hurt.

_And now is the moment of truth_, thought Vincent, feeling as though his stomach was doing belly flops, as Ellie picked up the Odin materia and the Basement Key inside the safe.

"Basement key? Oh, that room, right? The room beside the library ... now let's see, the entrance was over there..." said Ellie cheerfully. Vincent's throat was dry, and inside he was panicking. After watching Ellie in a few more battles with some bats, finally she arrived at the room. Vincent's room. Chaos was snickering, enjoying the show.

Ellie directed Cloud to enter the room. It looked relatively old, and there were a few coffins reminding Ellie of vampires. She went up to the one in the center and opened it. Out jumped a man, startling Ellie, and also Cloud. A man who wore very familiar clothing. A man who looked ...

She turned to Vincent, who did not look back, but questioned innocently, "What's wrong, Ellie?" She shook her head and turned back to the game.

**_Strange Man: Who is it!? ...Never seen you before. You must leave.  
Cloud: You were having a nightmare.  
Yuffie: I woke ya up. You outta be thankin' me.  
Strange Man: Hmph... a nightmare...? My long sleep has given me time to atone.  
Cloud: What are you saying?  
Strange Man: I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out. This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare.  
Cloud: ...You can say that again.  
Strange Man: Hmm? What do you know?  
Cloud: Talk about Sephiroth. Like you said, this mansion is the beginning of a nightmare. No, it's not a dream, it's for real. Sephiroth has lost his mind. He found the secrets hidden in this mansion...  
Strange Man: Sephiroth!? You know Sephiroth? You start first. _**

Cloud starts talking about Sephiroth. After doing that.

Cloud: ...That's how it was.  
Strange Man: So Sephiroth knows he was created five years ago? And about the Jenova Project? ...He was missing, but has just recently reappeared. He has taken many lives and is seeking the Promised Land.  
Cloud: Now it's your turn.  
Strange Man: Sorry... I cannot speak.  
Yuffie: Hey! You lyin' white-faced...!  
Strange Man: Hearing your stories has added upon me yet another sin. More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had. Now... please leave.

Ellie resumed control of Cloud. She did not notice Vincent behind her, gripping the armrest of the couch, afraid of what would happen next.

"You know, Vincent, this guy really looks like you. Or you really look like him..." said Ellie, trailing off as she squinted at the screen. She directed Cloud to disturb the strange man again.

_**Strange Man: ...You're still here.**_

Vincent chose not to reply to Ellie's comment.

_**Cloud: Who are you? At least tell us your name. **_

"He ... He even has a claw too ... just like you..." said Ellie, noticing the claw on the screen, her disbelief rising at each word she said.

"I was with... the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, otherwise known as-- the Turks... Vincent," said Vincent, half choking, amazed that he actually remembered what he said on that fateful day, and how correct the game proved to be again. The words then came out on screen. Ellie stared back and forth at the Vincent on screen and the Vincent in her house, right behind her, for several seconds, before fainting abruptly, Vincent catching her in shock.

* * *

How was that? OMG OMG OMG OMG I hope it's okay. I decided on Ellie fainting rather than Ellie screaming and glomping Vincent. Lol.

(1) - Wutainese or Wutaian? LOL

(2) - I believe the battle with Lost Number was waaaaaay harder, but I can't write battle scenes really well.


	17. Chapter 17

Thank you so much for reviewing! To ... Rabid fangirl ff7, I do know that it was Barret who said that, because the game script I used said so, but it doesn't make sense if Barret just suddenly popped up when Cloud's party consisted of Aeris, and Yuffie. Hmm, I wonder if there's a game script which provides ALL the characters reactions? Wow. And I didn't know about the easy way to beat Lost Number... not mentioned in the walkthrough. And anyway, Ellie's gonna get all her help from Vincent from now on, now that she knows who he is.

My SPM (O-levels) is over, weehehhehheheee

* * *

**Lost and Found : Chapter 17**

Vincent caught Ellie in his arms, relieved at the reaction for now. All was quiet save for the silent whirring of the PlayStation, and Fluffy's soft mewls. Vincent gently lay Ellie down on the couch and waited patiently for her to wake up, wondering how on earth he was going to explain to her. _At least she didn't show signs of a fanatic_, thought Vincent darkly. _Or maybe she hasn't undergone the change yet. _

"Now what do I do?" murmured Vincent to himself, settling himself down on the sofa. He fidgeted around the couch, switching his gaze from the clock to Ellie, until finally she stirred and muttered groggily.

"Ellie, are you alright?"

"Ackk!" squeaked Ellie, startled. She shot up immediately, then remembered what had happened, remembered who Vinnie really was.

"Oh my God, you're alive," she breathed. Vincent raised an amused eyebrow at this.

"Technically."

She threw a pillow at him, scowling.

"But how??"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember was sleeping. In my own coffin. Then I woke up in the forest nearby," said Vincent carefully, choosing to keep the existence of the portal secret.

"So ... so you've met Cloud and the others before?" said Ellie, her eyes widening.

"Yes. My companions ... My friends. This game you are playing ... I must admit it gave me a very big shock when I found out. This, is Cloud's story of three years ago."

"Three years?! So that means ... that means, you actually went through all this?" she said, gesturing towards the television where the game was still silent, waiting for confirmation of the X button, for Vincent's next words to pop out.

"I did not go through everything you have seen so far, Ellie. As you now know, you have only just ... found me. I know the events of what happened, but I know not of Cloud's story. So I must thank you, for letting me see through your game ... I have learned more about my companions than I have ever known just by merely asking," said Vincent, giving Ellie a small smile.

"But ... Oh my God, I must be the luckiest girl on earth!" exclaimed Ellie excitedly.

"Yes, I assume so..." said Vincent slowly, backing away slightly, afraid that she might try to jump him or something. Chaos's laughter boomed loudly in his head, making him wince. Ellie noticed, feeling puzzled.

"What's wrong, Vinnie?"

"You... ahm, you... never mind," said Vincent, clearing his throat slightly.

"Vinnie, do you know how many fans you have in this whole WORLD?"

"Actually, I think I have a rough idea when I borrowed your computer that day. That was the reason why I refused to go out and help you buy some groceries ... oh, and I'm not really sick."

Ellie laughed. Vincent smiled at her reaction. _Perhaps she has already gotten used to me. _The moment was spoiled when a loud noise was heard. Ellie blushed, and said, "Vinnie, I'm hungry ..."

"I'll prepare lunch," he responded, getting up from the couch.

"Prepare lunch? Geez, Vinnie! We already ordered takeaway just now. Where have you been?" said Ellie, laughing again. Vincent sat back down on the couch, flustered. The doorbell sounded, and Ellie jumped up to get it, eager on getting her lunch. Vincent moved to the dining room and prepared the table, waiting for Ellie.

"What did you order, Ellie?"

"Some noodles, and soup ... do you like them?"

"Yes, thank you ... Though I do not eat much."

"Why not? Even when you were with Cloud?"

"Yes," replied Vincent, amused. "Tifa was always trying to force me to eat. But, because of my special ... ah, abilities, my body does not require much food."

"I see... So you mean I've been forcing you to eat all this time?" said Ellie incredulously.

"It is of no matter. I do not care if I have eaten or not," replied Vincent simply.

"So, tell me more about yourself! Your real self!" said Ellie excitedly, chewing on her noodles.

Vincent turned to her with an odd gleam in his eyes.

"You'll find out sooner or later."

"...But can't you tell me now?"

"Why would I spoil it for you? You are, after all, still playing the game."

They ate their food quietly, with Ellie still wondering how on earth a Final Fantasy character had come to life. _Or perhaps they really were real? In another world? Who knows, right?_

"So, tell me what you think about Cloud!" said Ellie, breaking the silence. Picturing Cloud and Vincent sitting side by side in the buggy, without talking to each other, she giggled.

"Cloud is a wise and strong leader," said Vincent stiffly, caught unawares by the sudden question.

"Oh come on, surely you can do better than that ..."

Vincent shifted uneasily. _What does she want me to say? Actually, I've never really thought about them properly. _

"You know how he is like," he countered eventually. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Go on, try talking as if I have never known his character at all before."

"Hmm... He is ... the object of desire of two girls. Tifa and Aeris, of course. Perhaps Yuffie had taken a fancy to him at the beginning, or not, because she was an overly hormonal teenager and was rather ... boisterous and obnoxiously loud. She was the youngest, and probably just had a tiny crush... Cloud doesn't like it when people pick on him of his height. He is rather scrawny, though..." he trailed off, then turn to Ellie, smiling. "I definitely know that, if I were an enemy, Cloud is one person I really would not want to fight."

"Speaking of Tifa and Aeris ... who finally bagged him in the end?" asked Ellie.

Vincent flinched. It was a sensitive topic she had touched upon. _Aeris ... _

"Who do you think, Ellie? I would like to hear you opinion first," replied Vincent, smirking a little.

"Hmm… Cloud seems like he likes Aeris."

"Ah, but you direct that particular part of the game, isn't it?"

"Yeah … that's true. So who, Vinnie?"

"You'll find out," said Vincent smoothly, successfully closing the topic this time. Ellie shot him a playful glare. Vincent pretended not to notice.

* * *

I'm sorry! It's very short ... because I had to leave the game parts for next day ...


End file.
